St. Paul is pouring $1 million into major changes at its troubled police crime lab, but a key move to boost its scientific credibility could be stalled by an internal fight over union rights.
The St. Paul Police Federation and city officials are at odds about whether a newly created forensic lab manager post violates the federation's terms and conditions of employment. The job description requires strong scientific training and experience, which favors civilians. A sergeant has historically overseen the lab's operations.
The federation said in a statement Tuesday that it will take "all legal steps necessary" to address the city's insistence on hiring a civilian.
"Legally speaking, they have to renegotiate if they want to do that," said Chris Wachtler, the federation's attorney.
Sgt. Shay Shackle oversaw the lab from 2001 until last July, when courtroom testimony revealed that lab staff did not follow basic scientific procedures in its drug testing. Independent audits later revealed a host of problems, including poorly maintained testing instruments, unscientific language in reports and deficient skills among staff.
Consultants recommended hiring a scientist to oversee the lab, prompting the creation of the lab manager post. New forensic scientist jobs were also created, but they will replace jobs previously held by civilians who were laid off.
The city's stance is that the manager job is a new classification that doesn't violate the federation's contract, and that no promotional opportunities were lost. Shackle is still a sergeant.
"We have an excellent police department ... but they're not forensic scientists," said city labor relations manager, Jason Schmidt. "To me, it would be irresponsible for the city to ignore what the experts recommended we do."
