OSP forensic analyst scandal widens

Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel told NewsChannel 21 that Oregon State Police forensic analyst Nika Larsen is under investigation for stealing drugs from the crime lab in Bend. She is not the only OSP analyst who has been investigated for misconduct.

Hummel said Larsen is accused of stealing pills and other drugs and replacing them with over-the-counter pills to avoid suspicion. Hummel was informed about the matter six months ago.

In a Friday news release, OSP Public Information Officer Lt. Bill Fugate said an analyst testified in 2005 during a criminal trial where he provided his opinion on physical evidence in State vs. Samuel Adam Lawson.

NewsChannel 21 learned the analyst, Jeff Dovci, overstated the evidence in the case.

He retired from the Central Point crime lab in 2013. Hummel said Dovci worked on two cases in Deschutes County.

Washington County DA Bob Herman said Dovcialso was involved in two cases in his district, Larsen in 27 cases.

“I’m very concerned about the policies and procedures at the OSP crime labs in general,” Hummel said. “I want to see a major investigation by an independent agency.”

Hummel had asked the Oregon Innocence Project to review the cases Dovci was involved in. Aliza Kaplan, co-founder of the organization, said these two incidents of fraud are severe and she is very concerned.

“We also absolutely call for an independent audit of the Oregon State Police crime labs, all of them,” Kaplan said. “We’ve actually reached out to the Attorney General with these views and the governor.”

As Hummel is going through 502 criminal cases that Larsen has worked on and that now have to be re-evaluated, he thinks a major shift in policies at OSP crime labs is in order.

“I’m very shocked to see the lack of control at the crime labs,” Hummel said. “Forensic analysts have access to all evidence, not just the evidence of the case they’re working on.”

On Thursday, Hummel is going to meet with Oreogn’s U.S. Attorney on possibly filing federal charges.

The OSP said Friday it is continuing an investigation into criminal conduct involving a forensic analyst working at the OSP Bend Crime Laboratory — and revealed the details of an earlier investigation of a second crime lab analyst, in southern Oregon.

Here’s the rest of the full news release from Lt. Bill Fugate:

The employee has been placed on administrative leave and a criminal investigation was launched into the allegations. District attorneys affected by this situation have been notified and are working through these issues within their jurisdiction. This is an ongoing criminal investigation and any further information will be released through the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office.

The laboratories of the OSP Forensic Services Division are accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB).

As part of the accreditation process, the laboratories undergo both internal and external audits including an external assessment by the accrediting body at the beginning of each accreditation cycle, on-site surveillance visits by the accrediting body approximately every 24 months, an additional external audit to ensure DNA section compliance with the FBI Quality Assurance standards at a minimum every other year, and annual internal audits which are provided to the accrediting body for review.

The ASCLD/LAB accreditation program is a voluntary accreditation program. The laboratories of the Oregon State Police Forensic Services Division were first accredited by ASCLD/LAB in 1985 and transitioned to accreditation under the ASCLD/LAB international program to the ISO (International Organization of Standardization) 17025 standard in 2006.

Recently, there has been concern over another forensic analyst that had been assigned to the Central Point Laboratory.

The analyst testified in 2005 during a criminal trial where he provided his opinion on physical evidence in State vs. Samuel Adam Lawson. The subject was convicted of five counts of aggravated murder, three counts of attempted aggravated murder, and two counts of first degree murder which was overturned in 2012 by the Oregon Supreme Court for reasons not related to the analyst’s testimony.

The Supreme Court instituted a new procedure for acceptance of eyewitness testimony and ruled the trial should meet the new standard. The Oregon Supreme Court remanded the case for a new trial which never occurred. The analyst retired in November of 2013.

In December of 2013, OSP Forensic Division personnel along with a Department of Justice attorney found material during the review that was gathered in response to the subpoena for records in the new trial (State vs. Samuel Adam Lawson).

The material included potentially exculpatory information related to the Lawson case and some documents that could potentially cast doubt on the analyst’s future testimony. In April of 2014, OSP notified 20 district attorneys’ offices of the issues surrounding the former employee.

The Oregon State Police takes all reports of misconduct by its employees seriously. In both cases involving the Bend and Central Point analysts, disclosures were made to the appropriate district attorney offices and investigations were initiated.