TEMPE, AZ — Tempe officials waited months to disclose concerns to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office around the police department's Forensic Services Unit that processes crime scenes.
The ABC15 Investigators first reported earlier this month that a recent memo sent from Tempe Police Department's assistant chief of police to prosecutors revealed that there are "areas of concern" with the department's Forensic Services Unit (FSU), despite the city saying it's about a need for advanced training.
Tempe’s FSU is made up of crime scene technicians who process crime scenes, from homicides and sexual assaults to officer-involved shootings.
The ABC15 Investigators received an internal email that was sent about the Forensic Services Unit and how members of the unit will no longer respond to crime scenes, with the exception of providing photography support at traffic fatalities and serious injury crashes, non-suspicious deaths or suicides, photo documentation during warrant operations. That email was sent back on July 26, 2023.
However, the ABC15 Investigators have learned that the Tempe Police Department did not reach out to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for two months.
The ABC15 Investigators first reached out on September 26th about what was happening with the unit, and city officials told us that after a review of the Forensic Services Unit, they made the decision to upgrade the training to the FSU team members.
One day after our request for information, the Tempe Police Department sent this letter to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office about the areas of concern.
The letter dated September 27, 2023, reads: “A recent assessment of staff capabilities revealed a lack of consistency in operations, and a separate evaluation of our latent print analysis capability identified significant shortcomings,” wrote Interim Assistant Police Chief James Sweig.
“Given the critical nature of these analyses, a zero-defect performance standard is imperative,” the letter said.
The memo is something that Tempe officials didn't know that the ABC15 Investigators obtained, and when we asked the city when they reached out to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, a spokesperson said in part, “We have not reached out to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office about our technicians. Again, nothing wrong has occurred. There are no violations. Our team is gaining additional shared training and we are adopting standard procedures.”
City officials told the ABC15 Investigators that Tempe is striving to be a leader and provide the highest level of service for the people in their community, “to reach that level of performance, the supervisor determined that the unit could benefit from shared standard operating procedures and shared training.”
As a result, Tempe’s FSU, in collaboration with the police department’s legal team, is auditing and reviewing work in latent print analysis to determine if issues or errors exist.
A spokesperson for Tempe said that a review of cases has found that not a single case has been compromised.
“Any suggestion that members of the FSU getting additional training will somehow open the door to overturning criminal convictions is simply wrong,” a statement said.
Some are skeptical of Tempe’s explanation, as a local defense attorney told us earlier this month. “They're definitely downplaying this to the public,” said Armando Nava, “They want us to believe that they did nothing wrong.”
The City of Tempe said it will be reviewing cases that go back three years, which will include hundreds of cases.
Another internal document shows what these changes mean for Tempe — the members of the Forensics Services Unit will not respond to crime scenes, with the exception of providing photography support at traffic fatalities and serious injury crashes, non-suspicious deaths or suicides, and photo documentation during warrant operations.
For major incidents like homicides, stranger sexual assaults, and officer-involved shootings, Mesa’s police department will respond to all of them.
The internal memo by Tempe’s interim assistant chief of police says that Mesa’s Forensic Services Unit is also evaluating prior incidents and will train Tempe personnel consistent with contemporary standards.
The letter goes on to state that Tempe’s forensic members will go through a 16-week academy conducted by an “accredited agency” to align with contemporary forensic science standards.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office confirmed to the ABC15 Investigators that their office was made aware in September.
“What would be a concern is if any of the cases that we are handling or will handle are impacted, and now that we know about it we are in touch with Tempe PD to make sure that we become aware of any cases that are impacted by that,” said County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, “We have let the defense bar know of the situation so that they are also on the lookout for it.”
The ABC15 Investigators reached out to Tempe officials on Wednesday about this timeline, and waiting to notify MCAO, they said in an email, “To date, our review of cases has found no investigation compromised and no wrongdoing. Thus, there was no obligation to notify any agencies about this change in procedure.”
