Law enforcement officials are investigating the suspicious disappearance of cocaine and other illegal drugs from the Attleboro Police Department?s evidence room following an audit triggered by a change of leadership in the department.
The city?s mayor, Kevin J. Dumas, confirmed in a statement today that an internal audit had discovered that drugs were missing.
The results of the audit have triggered an internal police investigation, with the assistance of an independent consultant. The Bristol district attorney?s office is also assisting in the investigation, and the state attorney general?s office has been notified.
Dumas said the audit was commissioned as a matter of routine when Chief Kyle Heagney took over as acting chief more than a year ago, following the controversial resignation of former Chief Richard Pierce.
?[Chief Heagney] and I are taking this investigation very seriously and this type of misconduct will not be tolerated,? Dumas said in a statement. ?I have full faith and confidence in Chief Heagney and all those who are participating in this investigation.?
Heagney said he is investigating whether the drugs were stolen and whether they were used by any officers.
?This corruption is an insult to the ethical and decent officers who do their job in a just manner, and their righteousness is being overshadowed,? he said, saying the theft demonstrates the need for mandatory drug testing for police officers.
?This type of corruption makes the entire department look bad. I have zero tolerance for police corruption,? he said.
Gregg Miliote, a spokesman for Bristol District Attorney Samuel Sutter, said his office is assisting in the investigation. He had no comment on whether the disappearance of any drugs would interfere with Bristol County prosecutions, saying, ?I think we need to let the investigation play itself out.?
The disappearance of the drugs was first reported today by The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro. Heagney said that that the drugs were discovered to be missing in August.
The chief hired APD Management, a private police consulting company run by former Tewksbury Police Chief Alfred P. Donovan that specializes in internal police investigations, to help in the probe.
The discovery of missing drugs comes at a difficult time for the department. Heagney, promising reform, officially took over in October following the resignation last year of former chief Pierce.
The former chief stepped down at the request of Dumas amid allegations that he mishandled an investigation of his son, Patrolman Richard Pierce Jr. The younger Pierce allegedly lied about the use of a Taser during an arrest, and was ultimately fired.
The department is also still coping with the alleged wrongdoing of a veteran dispatcher who was reportedly caught in a sting receiving packages of marijuana sent through the mail earlier this month. The dispatcher, Edward A. Gingras II of Attleboro, is facing charges related to the sting, Miliote said.
Heagney, a third-generation member of the department, whose father was a captain, said he would root out wrongdoing within the department, but said it would take the cooperation of honest police officers as well.
?We only have bad cops when good cops help out,? he said. ?We?ve had some police misconduct, some corruption issues, and it?s been a tough time. Nevertheless ... a paradigm shift is happening with this department.?
Source: http://feeds.boston.com/click.phdo?i=67437357bd289d7ff07ca2b6f9c3221c
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