Video files missing from Dallas Police Department could jeopardize convictions

DALLAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) – Dallas Police Department Downplays probability that thousands of missing video files jeopardize recent or future criminal convictions.

The issue has already delayed one murder trial, but there is disagreement over what the overall impact will be.

The judge’s decision to postpone the trial for the murder of the woman accused of murdering Marisela Botello has drawn attention to the problem within the Dallas Police Department.

The digital files, containing mostly videos and photographs relevant to the case, were not released to the defense, as requested by the court.

This is because these files went missing along with 52,000 others related to other criminal cases.

Dallas lawyer Toby Shook says the discovery that digital files can be lost because they were mis-catalogued will give him and other criminal defense lawyers an opportunity to attack officers’ trust when their clients go to trial.

“This evidence that has been lost will be an appropriate form of cross-examination for detectives, for a good defense attorney, to undermine the credibility of the investigation,” Shook said.

There are fears that the missing files could lead to the overturning of recent convictions for violent criminals.

Dallas County District Attorney John Crusoe issued a statement addressing this concern, saying, “To the best of our knowledge, my office has not been notified of fully adjudicated cases where evidence was found to be missing.”

“We’re talking about 52,000 out of 3.2 million, so it’s not some big issue,” Shook said.

Dallas Police Association President Mike Mata says the vast majority of missing digital evidence is irrelevant to their cases.

“…Many of them are just digital video from stops or those who issued a ticket, or from a traffic accident,” Mata said. “It’s just videos that haven’t been tagged.”

But will convicted felons be able to use it as a basis for appeal?

“Actually, I don’t think it’s really going to happen,” Shook said.

Dallas Police wants to emphasize that while missing digital video files can be difficult to find, only those that are more than two years old and were not properly catalogued have been removed.