RICHMOND, Va. -- Lawmakers and experts are reacting to Virginia State Police saying "human error" in the hiring process of a former trooper accused of catfishing a teen in California and killing three of her family members, before killing himself last month.
Reports surfaced this week, that Edwards was the subject of a 2016 police report in Abingdon, Va.
During the incident, he's alleged to have harmed himself and was threatening to kill himself and his father, before being held on a temporary detention order (TDO).
"It is a little bit more than human error," Virginia State Sen. Joe Morrissey (D - 16th) said. "How did that slip by? Apparently, there was a TDO in southwest Virginia, and to say that it escaped their knowledge -- that's not satisfactory and that needs to be thoroughly examined."
Following Edwards' case, VSP launched a review of his hiring.
Edwards was accepted into the academy in July 2021, and graduated in January 2022, before resigning on Oct. 28, 2022, and starting a position with the Washington County Sheriff's Office.
VSP said its review of the process was complete and "revealed human error resulted in an incomplete database query during Edwards’ hiring process", but did not directly mention the 2016 incident.
The agency added it believed this was an isolated case, but was taking steps to "ensure the error is not repeated going forward" and is "auditing existing personnel records and practices."
CBS 6 asked VSP for more specifics about the error and the background of the person who made them, along with how they were confident it was an isolated incident. A VSP spokesperson said they are not commenting beyond their initial statement.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said he is waiting for VSP’s review to be completed, but there could be legislative fixes to the underlying issue.
VSP said its forensic review of Edwards' agency-issued laptop and cellphone is ongoing.
“Making sure that information is able to be shared across the Commonwealth in a much more streamlined way. So, that we, in fact, have the ability when we do background checks on folks to readily access all the information,” said Youngkin.
A Case Study
“This is a difficult matter for police departments. Every police department does a thorough background search for their recruits, people they're considering hiring. But, sometimes those background searches are incomplete,” policing expert and Virginia Commonwealth University Wilder School of Government of Public Affairs Prof. William Pelfrey said.
He added that Edwards’ situation will become a case study for the field.
“For every Virginia State Police background investigator and I expect background investigators all over Virginia will look at this as how an incomplete investigation can lead to serious consequences,” said Pelfrey.
Pelfrey said the 2016 incident is one Edwards should have told VSP about.
“Because this person was detained by police — that is taken into custody against their will — they should have disclosed that this involvement happened. And that would have led to some subsequent questions about this,” explained Pelfrey. “It's a crime to falsify or fail to accurately represent your experiences, your background when you apply to a police department, and this person committed a crime by inaccurately representing their history. But, police agencies have to remind applicants and push the stipulation of the penalties that are available if somebody does falsify their application records.”
Palfrey said it is understandable that the 2016 record was missed, but it should have been found.
“There was no conviction in this case. There was a person detained by police, temporarily detained, largely as a result of a mental health call. And there are very strict regulations about the kinds of information that are available to police relative to health,” said Pelfrey. “There was a police report, that's public record. So, a really thorough background check could have found this. It's hard to know how easily available this was and since it happened in a place where the suspect lived, I would expect that a background check would find it. A really good investigator could have found this and probably should have and I expect that Virginia State Police will place a bright light on their background investigators and charge them with greater diligence when they review candidates.”
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