TAMPA, Fla. – A Florida police detective was arrested Tuesday for tampering with evidence after she covered up a procedural mistake she had made during an attempted murder investigation, officials said.
Tampa police Chief Brian Dugan said during a news conference that Jarda Bradford, 38, faces two counts of evidence tampering. The department suspended her and is in the process of firing her, Dugan said.
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Bradford was working on an attempted murder case from October when she failed to cover earrings in a photo lineup before showing it to a witness, Dugan said. The chief explained that it is department procedure to mask any identifying markers such as tattoos or jewelry when presenting a photo lineup.
When another detective pointed out the mistake, Dugan said Bradford added the masking, but only after she had already shown the photos to a witness. Bradford also initialed the lineup as accurate, Dugan said.
“This is a procedural issue with evidence -- it’s not crime scene evidence that was manipulated,” Dugan said. “It’s one of those cases where you hear quite often in politics where the cover-up is worse than the crime.”
Dugan said he is “extremely disappointed” in Bradford and said her actions have weakened the attempted-murder case.
Bradford was released from jail later Tuesday on $4,000 bond. Jail records didn’t list an attorney. Tampa’s police union didn’t immediately reply to a message seeking comment from The Associated Press.