Maryland police to control evidence in cases involving city officers

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - State police officials said Monday they will handle evidence in future cases brought against Baltimore officers, after forensic material went missing in the trial of a city detective accused of raping a teen.

"We are finalizing an agreement with the state police to control evidence for any case in which an officer is charged with a crime," Baltimore Police Department spokesman Sterling Clifford said.

The trial of Det. William Welch, 41, who is accused of raping a 16-year-old suspect at a police station, was postponed Monday because the Baltimore Police Department said it cannot find important evidence in the case.

Despite "extensive searches," officers said they cannot find a sexual assault forensic evidence kit, clothing from both Welch and the victim, wet wipes and DNA evidence, said Warren Brown, Welch’s attorney.

"It’s all still missing," Brown said. "They’re still looking for it."

Welch was holding the girl at the Southeastern District Station on a Baltimore County prostitution charge the night the alleged attack occurred.

The Baltimore Police Department has launched an internal investigation into the missing evidence. Brown believes having the state police handle such evidence in the future is a good decision.

"Certainly, it injects a little more credibility into the process," he said. "But the naysayers will still say it’s the police investigating the police. I don’t think they lost it on purpose. I hope not. If they are potentially destroying evidence, we’ve got the inmates running the asylum."

Maryland State Police spokesman Greg Shipley said the agency has given a "verbal agreement" to the city police to take care of evidence in similar cases in the future.

"We don’t have requests from other jurisdictions," he said.

lbroadwater@baltimoreexaminer.com

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