State AG: Virginia Beach police used falsified forensic reports to force confessions

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring released a statement last week saying an investigation revealed the Virginia Beach Police Department used forged forensic evidence during interrogations to force confessions and cooperation in their cases.

According to the statement, the tactic was used at least five times between March 2016 and February 2020, and at least once false forensic reports were admitted as evidence in court.

The tactic was discovered by an assistant at the Virginia Department of Forensic Science when they retrieved one of the forged documents upon request from an assistant commonwealth’s attorney. 

The Attorney General’s Office of Civil Rights and the Virginia Beach City Council reached an agreement on Tuesday for the police department to discontinue its use of forged forensic evidence and detectives would sign a document agreeing not to utilize the tactic in the future.

The OCR also notified all the individuals who were coerced into confessions or cooperation using false forensic evidence, and to notify the OCR promptly of any future incidents.