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1/ Drug field tests like this one are little pouches with chemicals in them. Officers drop in suspected drugs and wait for colors to form.
But the colors don't always signal illegal drugs.
For example: there were no drugs in this picture. Many still call this positive ...
But the colors don't always signal illegal drugs.
For example: there were no drugs in this picture. Many still call this positive ...
2/ The National Registry of Exonerations just added 5 wrongful convictions out of Las Vegas.
Courts overturned them after stories by @reportertopher and me on roadside drug tests. Police and prosecutors use the tests as evidence ...
Courts overturned them after stories by @reportertopher and me on roadside drug tests. Police and prosecutors use the tests as evidence ...
3/ In the cocaine test kits, used in Vegas and nationwide, many substances cause false positive reactions.
Officers sometimes just look for blue reactions. 80 different compounds turn the chemicals blue.
Officers sometimes just look for blue reactions. 80 different compounds turn the chemicals blue.
4/ Courts don't allow field tests as trial evidence. But many people plead guilty based on the kits.
People who didn’t possess illegal drugs accepted convictions quickly ...
People who didn’t possess illegal drugs accepted convictions quickly ...
5/ Like with all drug enforcement, unreliable field tests hurt people of color in MUCH higher numbers.
There were 100s of bad drug convictions in Houston. Black people made up 59% of them in a city where they are 24% of population. https://www.propublica.org/article/since-we-reported-on-flawed-roadside-drug-tests-five-more-convictions-have-been-overturned
There were 100s of bad drug convictions in Houston. Black people made up 59% of them in a city where they are 24% of population. https://www.propublica.org/article/since-we-reported-on-flawed-roadside-drug-tests-five-more-convictions-have-been-overturned
6/ In Vegas, Black people make up 11% of population. They were 3 of the 5 vacated field test wrongful convictions.
7/ It's no secret the field tests are unreliable. Studies have confirmed that for decades. The largest test manufacturer told me in 2016 its tests "should not be used as evidence of the presence ... of any substance."
8/ But police often try to keep inaccurate field tests a secret. Las Vegas Metro PD refused to release public records about false positives for 6 months.
After relenting, the dept stamped every page with this (empty) threat:
After relenting, the dept stamped every page with this (empty) threat:
9/ Police continue to use the cheap, convenient and unreliable test kits in scores of arrests. And inaccurate results continue to damage lives.
10/ There's more detail in our story about the exonerations. https://www.propublica.org/article/since-we-reported-on-flawed-roadside-drug-tests-five-more-convictions-have-been-overturned
11/ And I encourage you to read our entire investigation.
https://www.propublica.org/article/common-roadside-drug-test-routinely-produces-false-positives
https://www.propublica.org/article/unreliable-and-unchallenged
https://www.propublica.org/article/common-roadside-drug-test-routinely-produces-false-positives
https://www.propublica.org/article/unreliable-and-unchallenged
12/ Get ProPublica’s next story: https://go.propublica.org/bigstory-social
