Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office bracing for possible closure of forensics lab
State lawmakers are threatening to close the Wheeler-Pruitt Forensic Lab in Huntsville to save money. The facility currently services law enforcement agencies in 22 North Alabama Counties including Dekalb.
"Wow. What are we going to do now," said Dekalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris.
Sheriff Harris is asking that question because if the Huntsville lab closes, criminal evidence and even bodies that require an autopsy will have to be transported much further to either Mobile or Montgomery; a very time consuming operation when you consider those two locations are already servicing counties they’re more familiar with.
"We don’t know if they’re going to use home cooking down there and play politics with all the counties surrounding Montgomery; We’ll do our counties first and then North Alabama will have to suffer like we always do," Harris said.
Dekalb County investigators are already dealing with a backlog of cases that require either a forensic expert or an autopsy report. If they have to get in line behind the other jurisdictions, it could potentially take much longer to solve certain crimes.
The one thing Sheriff Harris said he’s not looking forward to is telling a family member of a deceased loved one how long it might be before the state can release the body to them; yet another potential problem if the Huntsville facility closes.
"I can’t image what I’m going to have to sit down and say; look it’s going to be three weeks before we can get the body back. You’ll not be able to have an open casket because the body will be decomposed," Harris said.
As for Dekalb County investigators, Sheriff Harris tells News 12 that he has already sat down with them and explained why there might be tough times ahead.
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