Oregon State Police is investigating a forensic analyst for tampering with drug evidence. The analyst has been placed on leave from her job at the agency's lab in Bend.
The Deschutes County District Attorney says he must retest evidence in more than 500 cases because of the alleged tampering. Eric Hasselman is Deputy Lane County District Attorney
He says out of the dozens of cases the analyst worked on for Lane County, they've found that 16 were referred to the DA's office. They're still trying to find out the nature of the malfeasance, how it affects the cases, and next steps. Hasselman says people make mistakes but…
Hasselman: "We are held to a higher standard as we should be in our behavior and anytime somebody, its apparent or at least perceived that they've engaged in something that would detract from the credibility of the criminal justice system, it hurts all of us."
In Klamath County, the DA's office says they're reviewing more than 300 cases. The majority of the affected cases are from eastern Oregon.
