City Manager Withdraws Silk Plant Forest Report; Orders New Review

City Manager - August 31, 2007
Contact: Lee Garrity, 727-2123

City Manager Lee Garrity today announced that he is withdrawing the recently released administrative report on the police investigation of the Jill Marker beating at Silk Plant Forest in 1995. Garrity said he has received new information that brings into question the thoroughness and objectivity of the review.

"I have recently discovered that not all evidence and documents were audited and that there was an apparent misunderstanding regarding the scope of the review," Garrity said. "The review was not as comprehensive as what the City Council and I had intended."

Garrity indicated that he intends to recommend to the City Council’s Public Safety Committee that a new review of the investigation be conducted by the Citizen Police Review Board with the assistance from an outside independent investigator.

The report examined the police investigation of the case. Kalvin Smith was convicted in 1997 but has maintained his innocence. To address lingering questions about the case, Garrity ordered a review of the investigation. The report, filed August 14, concluded that the police detective who investigated the case did not always follow proper procedures, but that he "did not deliberately ignore evidence or avenues of investigation."

Garrity said that he had directed that this review be conducted by police personnel who had no involvement in the original criminal investigation, but he learned this week that one of the detectives who conducted the review had been the supervisor of the original investigator, D. R. Williams, for a brief period in 1996.

"With the Silk Plant Forest case, I entrusted the management of this administrative review to the police department. However, it now appears that there may have been shortcomings in the oversight of this review," Garrity said. "As such, I find it necessary to withdraw the August 14, 2007, administrative report."

The Winston-Salem Citizen Police Review Board is composed of 11 citizens appointed by the City Council. The board is charged with reviewing citizen complaints about police behavior and conduct. The Public Safety Committee and the City Council can also direct the board to review other police matters.

In addition, Garrity announced that he is expediting his timetable to have an outside agency review the entire Criminal Investigations Division of the police department to ensure that best practices are in place. Garrity said that this was recommended in the Sykes report and that he had already solicited proposals, but plans to accelerate the process.