Durham police under microscope

Chief Steve Chalmers will detail his department's actions in the Duke lacrosse case, actions that many say were improper

When Durham Police Chief Steve Chalmers breaks his year-long silence on the Duke lacrosse case this week, he'll have a lot of talking to do.

The allegations of misconduct against District Attorney Mike Nifong have taken center stage, but an examination of police and prosecutorial records raises questions about whether the police ceded control of the investigation, violated their own policies, created false records and failed to pursue basic investigative leads.

Chalmers, who has declined all interview requests on the case from The News & Observer since March 2006, will issue a report on his department's handling of the case later this week, Durham city manager Patrick Baker said.

"We want the truth in this report," City Council member Eugene Brown said. "We've had more than enough deception already."

Three former lacrosse players -- Dave Evans, Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty -- were charged with raping and sexually assaulting an escort service dancer, Crystal Gail Mangum, at a team party in March 2006. Last month, state Attorney General Roy Cooper ended the case and declared the three players innocent.

The three players have not yet decided whether they will file civil lawsuits against Nifong, the investigators or the city of Durham. If they do, the lawsuits would likely focus on whether the players were identified through a flawed procedure and whether an investigator created false evidence.

The police department's problems can all be traced to one fundamental error -- letting Nifong take over the case -- according to Jim Cooney, defense lawyer for Seligmann. Cooney has represented the Charlotte Police Department on several occasions, including on charges of malicious prosecution brought by a doctor accused of murdering his wife.

"The police let Nifong usurp the chain of command, and this is unforgivable," Cooney said. "The police work for the chief, who works for the city manager, who works for the City Council. The police do not work for the DA."

It is unusual for a prosecutor to take command of an investigation; gathering evidence and investigating crimes is the province of police.

Nifong took over the case on March 24, 2006, the day news broke that the lacrosse team had been ordered to the police station to give DNA samples. Sgt. Mark Gottlieb, the senior investigator on the case, wrote that he was told by his boss, Capt. Jeff Lamb, that Nifong would be running the case. Lamb instructed Gottlieb to "go through Mr. Nifong for any directions how to conduct matters in this case." Lamb also instructed Gottlieb to keep him up to date on the case.

Police records show Nifong running the case, with no indication that Gottlieb's superiors were giving orders. For example, Gottlieb wrote a lengthy e-mail message to Nifong on May 3, one day after Nifong won the Democratic primary. "Congratulations on the primary election. There are several things I need clarification on this week while I am off, so I know how you want to proceed."

Gottlieb asked for specific instructions on a variety of tasks: testing of Mangum's hair for drugs, arresting the third suspect, approaching two non-lacrosse players who attended the party, obtaining photographs of the party, and showing photographs of the players to a second escort service dancer hired to perform at the party.

The photo ID

One of the most criticized areas of police conduct was Gottlieb's handling of the photo identification procedure that led to the indictment of the three players.

On March 31, Nifong directed Gottlieb and Investigator Benjamin Himan to show Mangum pictures of all 46 white lacrosse players (Mangum had said her attackers were white, so the team's lone black player was not named as a suspect). Mangum had earlier looked at photographs of 36 lacrosse players and failed to identify an assailant.