NYPD Lab Tech Allegedly "Faked" Drug-Test Results: Report NBCNewYork.com updated 17 minutes ago An NYPD forensics tech allegedly falsified drug-test results, potentially jeopardizing thousands of criminal cases, according to a published report. Authorities suspended Mariem Megalla, a 24-year employee in the police department's forensics lab, for allegedly faking evidence to save time and effort, reports The New York Post. Sources told the paper NYPD warned the city's district attorneys last week that they may have to review pending felony cases to determine whether drug-test samples submitted as evidence need to be retested. "Shortcuts were done in lieu of retesting … It's not acceptable to take these shortcuts," chief police spokesman Paul Browne told the Post. In one case, Megalla allegedly posted a positive cocaine label on the last of 39 samples tested because that final bag showed up negative for the drug while the first 38 tested positive and she didn't want to have to test all the samples over again, reports the Post. In another case, she's accused of slapping a positive cocaine tag on a sample that tested negative to avoid trekking to another side of the building to fill out paperwork, according to the Post. Read more: NYPD Lab Tech Allegedly "Faked" Drug-Test Results: Report - News- msnbc.com
So, so many fucked up things about this 1) The fact that we drug test people at all... 2) That this woman had no moral objections to condemning an innocent person to being a criminal with legal punishment/jail/whatever, because she cbf walking a bit. 3) That this goes unchecked, that there aren't a team of scientists cross checking independantly. I mean, this is a pretty major thing that can change someones life, it's too significant to leave space for human error... or human laziness. 4) The fact that she gets fired, they re-do the tests and that's that. This is major shit, a calamity in my opinion. It rings so many alarm bells, but that's the thing - they don't care. They want to hush this up and continue on, and the worst thing is that they can because who's going to stop them? And if this did happen in the private sector, I don't think we could attribute it purely to capitalism - as much as I'd like to, being a rabid slobbering socialist and all I think we'd attribute this to one singular lazy bitch who doesn't deserve a job in any kind of 'public service' position.
if it was the private sector it would be PROFITABLE for an employee to behave like that. damn these free market conservative types are thick headed at times
Oh, I completely agree with you. This has more to do with this generations sense of entitlement (And thus the 'OH I DON'T HAVE TO DO MY JOB, WHO CARES IF I PUT INNOCENT PEOPLE BEHIND BARS' attitude). You'll find idiots like this in the public and private sector, which makes me laugh when someone uses examples like this as a case against public or private workers. What's your point? Last I checked, employees who get paid a base salary (Non-commission) don't care what's profitable for their bosses, so what benefit is there for, say, a bottom-rung employee to cut MAJOR corners, like this NYPD lab technician? None. At. All. I'm conservative? There's a new one. I know it must be really convenient to compartmentalize people into neat little groups (this is a form of psychological projection, I think you need help, bro, stop projecting your insecurities on me) and call everyone you disagree with a 'conservative', but you do realize that the liberalization of trade and economics is not 'conservative', it's actually a traditional liberal position. Oh wait, you wouldn't learn things like that watching TV, sorry for assuming you were an independent thinker. My fault.
Our judicial/court system is so broken its embarrassing. I went through it for 7 years (2 dui's and a couple weed charges) and it is just a absolute joke. Its not about being constructive and making a better society. Its just a bunch of regular people in charge of shit they really have no grasp on. I dont find this one bit surprising. It really makes u wonder about all the other shit they dont catch. How much fucked up shit is REALLY going on behind the scenes. There is a lot.
No it wouldn't. A company might save a few bucks on employee salaries in the short run, but if it ever gets found out every test they've ever done would be called into question. If they were working for the city they'd could lose their contract because of the bad press, and be open to lawsuits from every business or individual who hired them to do a test (if a daycare paid them to do tests, the day care could say their negligence put children at risk and sue them to try to get an out of court settlement).
I hope everything works out. It is sad to see people arrested for a bad reason, but falsely convicted at that... And Suspended? She should be punished more than that.
Absolutely. I think of it like this - she was a public servant. What she did was not to serve the public, but to ABUSE the public. It might even be worse than abuse, I'd consider it to be framing members of the public. For this, a heavy punishment is due. I'd almost advocate locking her up in jail on a fake cocaine charge because the government was too lazy to give her a fair trial... but that's too harsh and just as much of a perversion of justice as she commited. But what I'd consider absolutely appropriate would be barring her from EVER being in such a position of power again. The woman is not fit to be employed in such a job, if people must be in such a position of power at all then they MUST be the absolute best people that can possibly be there, with a strong moral sentiment towards the people who they are supposedly serving. Christ, how did she even GET the job?!
Actually, the most profitable action is to maintain a facade of integrity while doing lots of dirty things.
The most profitable action is sustainable. Acting like the state without the monopoly privileges of the state will bring swift failure.