From the Daily News we have critical reporting regarding a current misconduct probe investigating DNA analysts at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. A senior analyst and two criminalists have been suspended for allegedly signing off on their own analyses, a forbidden practice which brings into question the integrity of their lab work and reporting.

Elizabeth Daniel Vasquez, Director of the Brooklyn Defenders Science and Surveillance Project, said the problem goes beyond simple misconduct and an independent probe is needed.

“What’s happening here is Benintendo is doing the analysis and someone else is swearing to the report — that’s a blatant, first level lie. It’s a path to perjury,” Vasquez said.

“It also raises questions about the internal oversight and culture of the lab and what pressures they were under that they felt they needed to do this. There’s a recklessness there that risks having scientific error introduced.”

--

But Vasquez said there should be an external review, comparing the scandal to others in Massachusetts, Houston and Washington, D.C. that led to lab shutdowns.

“What this tells us is their quality control systems are not working,” she said. “A full independent scientific audit overseen by an independent entity is necessary.”

Read the full article here.