The police work of a Coconut Creek, Florida, detective was so bad that it resulted in 82 criminal investigations being mishandled over a three-year period.

The failure of Tammy Kilgore Alois to fully investigate the crimes, many of which involved sexual offenses against children, from 2010 to 2012 prompted the Coconut Creek Police Department and the Broward State Attorney’s Office to look into Alois’ work. It was found that she failed to interview victims and witnesses, mishandled evidence and neglected to write reports or present cases to Broward County prosecutors, according to FloridaBulldog.org.

The department’s internal affairs division needed three officers to investigate the cases because of the volume of work. Most of the cases were never prosecuted because of the excessive time that had passed since the crimes had been committed. “To quickly state it, the parents and children no longer wanted to peel off the bandage and relive the nightmare,” Lt. Dominic Coppola, then head of the internal affairs division, said.

Alois was eventually fired in 2013, but for violating an agreement she had previously received in lieu of termination and for abusing prescription drugs, not directly for neglecting the cases.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

Coconut Creek Police Botched 82 Child Rape and Other Cases; Dashed Hopes For Justice (by Dan Christensen, FloridaBulldog.org)