BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) – The Bristol Police Department says it has instituted new methods to track cases more closely after numerous complaints languished for months and years under piles of paperwork on a detective’s desk.
The unsolved cases included several reports of sexual assault, child abuse and other serious offenses, including some in which the deadlines for prosecution expired while the cases were in limbo, The Hartford Courant reported in Thursday’s editions.
The problem was so well-known that other Bristol detectives routinely played a game they called “Palmer Bingo,” pulling out files at random from Detective James W. Palmer’s desk to see who came up with the oldest unsolved case, the newspaper reported.
Palmer, who has retired, declined to comment when contacted by the newspaper this week.
Bristol Police Chief John DiVenere called the matter regrettable but isolated, and said he has instituted new methods to better track cases.
“I don’t want anyone thinking this is still going on. It was an aberration,” he said.
The Courant, which obtained records about the incidents after filing and winning a complaint with the state’s Freedom of Information Commission, reported that the unsolved cases included the alleged sexual assaults of at least two pre-teen children.
A newly promoted supervisor discovered the old files in stacks of paperwork on Palmer’s desk early in 2005. Subsequent audits turned up more investigations that had stalled, were missing key information or showed no signs of work.
Palmer was accused of 24 misconduct charges after an internal investigation, but the city and police union negotiated Palmer’s retirement and he left the department in August 2005, the newspaper reported.
Palmer told police commanders that his heavy work load caused the cases to back up, and that he was repeatedly pulled away from his regular duties and assigned to computer-related work for other divisions.
However, a department investigation also faulted lax supervision and sloppy paperwork as parts of the problem. DiVenere would not say whether any of Palmer’s supervisors were disciplined, saying he could not discuss personnel issues.
The chief also said that Palmer’s pending cases were reassigned to other detectives last year who either closed them, charged suspects or are still investigating.
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