Dogs sniff out wrong suspect; scent lineups questioned

[Blue_Tires]

VICTORIA, Texas (CNN) -- The interrogation room inside the Victoria County Sheriff's Office is sterile and cold. There's a table in the middle, a one-way mirror and a hidden video camera that lets investigators watch suspects.

Michael Buchanek knows the room well. He was part of countless investigations. Buchanek spent more than 25 years with the Sheriff's Office as a commander of operations.

But on March 16, 2006, Buchanek found himself sitting in the interrogation room. This time, he was on the other side of the table. The day before, his neighbor and friend, Sally Blackwell, was found strangled to death with a rope. Her body was left in a field five miles from her home.

Buchanek sat in the interrogation room with three homicide investigators, former brothers on the force. But the investigators were no longer friends. Buchanek was now the prime suspect in Blackwell's murder.

"They told me they knew I did it and that I was going to spend the rest of my life on death row," Buchanek told CNN.

The story of how a veteran law enforcement officer became a murder suspect is at the heart of a controversy over an investigative forensic tool called dog-scent lineups.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/05/texas.sniffer.dogs.controversy/

[EFerrari]

1. And they STILL defend this sloppiness even AFTER their findings

where shown to be wrong. Unreal.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

2. I guess most people with Snausages in their pockets are also murderers

[sharp_stick]

3. Ahhh Texas

the only way to avoid death row is to be lucky. I'm starting to think the police and DA's in that State just throw a fucking dart at a bunch of pictures to "solve" a case.

How in the hell could you ever have a dog convict somebody? Pathetic forensics, pathetic police work and pathetic public safety.

[Zywiec]

4. "It's left me with a pretty bad taste for law enforcement," Buchanek said.

"It's pretty much ruined my life altogether."

I've had a bad taste for law enforcement for as long as I can remember.

[undeterred]

5. He was the guy who always carried dog treats

so he was picked by scent.

[EndersDame]

7. I would be screwed I have training treats in my pocket

I also tend to have chicken bones,bbq detritus (lots of people in the Apt. complex just throw them outside)that I pull out of my pups mouth (fun stuff) plus feathers and other things

[Soylent Brice]

6. not so much fun when you're on the other side of the table. n/t

[Blue_Tires]

8. ttt