Convicted Cedar Rapids man asks judge for new trial based on racial comments by former state lab criminalist

A Cedar Rapids man, convicted in 2009 of sexual assault and burglary, asked a judge Monday for a new trial because DNA analysis submitted at trial was conducted by a state crime lab criminalist who was fired this summer after she made derogatory racial comments on social media.

Bruce Braggs, now serving up to 50 years in prison, claims in his motion that fired Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation criminalist Amy Pollpeter making the comments on social media and her describing herself as a sexual assault survivor, as well as a speaker and author on sexual assault, shows a bias against black individuals and defendants charged in sexual assault cases.

Testimony during Braggs' trial pointed to him breaking into an apartment and sexually assaulting a 19-year-old former Kirkwood Community College student on June 3, 2007. He was convicted of second-degree sexual abuse and first-degree burglary.

Pollpeter, who worked as a criminalist from June 2006 to July 26, testified Monday during the hearing that she made those comments in reference to five police officers being killed in Dallas. She admitted she was frustrated by seeing officers being killed during this time, but it wasn't her attitude or 'true feelings” toward black people in general.

Pollpeter said she hadn't felt that way in the past. It was a late night, she was tired, and she posted the comments after seeing images of a Des Moines protest rally of black individuals carrying signs that said 'death to cops” and 'death to all white cops.”

Her concern was that if she was identified as working for law enforcement and if she saw a black individual on the streets and didn't know their intentions, she would be concerned for her safety, Pollpeter testified.

Pollpeter admitted that she was an 'advocate for sexual assault awareness” and that department officials were aware of it.

Pollpeter said every criminalist typically has basic information when they receive items to test, such as name, race and birth date for both victims and defendants. She added that she usually didn't look much at the victim's information.

She was aware Braggs was charged with sexual assault and she tested his underwear and penile swab for DNA. The penile swab was weak and she couldn't obtain a full DNA profile. Two contributors were found on the underwear - Braggs and the victim but it was weak, Pollpeter said.

Pollpeter said Braggs being a black man didn't affect her analysis of the evidence. She didn't make a habit of looking at race and she even asked that the department remove it from the forms because it wasn't relevant.

'I'm a scientist and you follow the procedures and science,” she said.

Pollpeter also said being a sexual assault survivor didn't affect her work. In fact, she was more careful to not be biased and stay open minded.

Bruce Reeve, DCI lab administrator, said Pollpeter was fired in July over code of conduct issues and violating the social media policy. The concern was over her ability to testify as an expert at trials. She could be seen as not being 'neutral” and it could potentially impact the work.

Every criminalist's work receives a technical review from a peer in the lab, Reeve said. Some of Pollpeter's work, since she was terminated, has been retested and reviewed if requested by law enforcement or attorneys. She also had cases she was in the process of analyzing when she left and those also are being retested.

Reeve said none of her cases retested so far have indicated any bias or changes in conclusion.

Reeve acknowledged the fact that evidence from Braggs' case couldn't be retested because the DNA evidence was destroyed in the flood, but her work received a technical review at the time and her report in this case has been reviewed again.

The evidence at that time in 2007, after Braggs was charged, was held in an evidence locker located in the basement of the Cedar Rapids Police Department, which flooded in 2008, according to court records.

Scott Stockslenger, a criminalist in the DNA section, testified he reviewed Pollpeter's work in this case and he found nothing unusual or anything that raised concerns with her results.

Paul Bush, the criminalist supervisor in the DNA section, testified that he trained Pollpeter and he considered her professional and her work to be unbiased.

Bush said the lab has reviewed three of her cases since she was terminated and no issues or inconsistencies were found with her results and reports. The lab is in the process of rescreening others.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Kevin McKeever took the motion under advisement and said he would issue a written ruling in the near future.