Heavy hitters including a senior judge with the District’s highest court and the mayor’s public safety deputy are lined up to testify at a council hearing on a proposal to create a forensic sciences department.
At-large Councilman Phil Mendelson proposed the bill that would create a department separate from the police to operate and govern the $250 million forensic sciences laboratory the city expects to open next year.
Mendelson says having a separate forensics department would add weight to investigations that involve DNA samples, alcohol level tests and other scientific police investigative techniques.
Harry Edwards, senior circuit judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Paul Quandry are among the 15 people expected to testify at Monday’s hearing.
