District Attorney Finds No Evidence Against North Carolina’s Top Polygraph Operator

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Jon Ostendorff reports for the Asheville Citizen-Times that North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Chris Smith, who supervises the Bureau’s polygraph unit, will not be criminally prosecuted for allegedly assaulting a suspect he had polygraphed. Although not specifically mentioned in the article, it would appear that no video recording was made of the interrogation session in question. Routine videotaping of all interrogations (including polygraph interrogations) would serve as a deterrent both to misconduct by law enforcement personnel and false complaints by suspects. While Special Agent Smith has escaped prosecution, a cloud of doubt remains over his head, with the district attorney finding Smith’s explanation of the incident “to be ridiculous and insulting to the intelligence of any reasonable person.” Had the entire session been video-recorded, a more conclusive determination of what transpired might have been reached.

Reporter Jon Ostendorff writes:

SYLVA — A prosecutor on Tuesday dismissed an assault charge against the State Bureau of Investigation’s top polygraph agent but said he is concerned about the officer’s conduct.

District Attorney Richard Shaffer said he found no evidence Special Agent Chris Smith assaulted Whittier resident Kenneth Rhinehart after a lie-detector test April 23 at the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.

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North Carolina’s Senior Polygrapher Charged with Assault

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Jon Ostendorff reports for the Asheville Citizen-Times that the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations’ senior polygraph examiner, Special Agent Chris Smith, who supervises all the Bureau’s polygraphers, was arrested and charged with assault in August 2009. Smith is currently free on $200,000 bond:

SYLVA — The State Bureau of Investigation’s top polygraph agent is charged with assaulting a man suspected of molesting a child in Jackson County.

The SBI put Special Agent Chris Smith on administrative duty Sept. 8 while internal affairs investigators looked into allegations that he pushed Whittier resident Kenneth Rhinehart into a wall, a spokeswoman for the agency said Monday.

He remains on that assignment, which means he can’t participate in investigations.

His court date is scheduled for Dec. 1.

The agency gave its report on the incident to District Attorney Michael Bonfoey in October.

The state assigned Cleveland County District Attorney Rick Shaffer to handle the prosecution after Bonfoey recused his office because it has worked closely with Smith as a police witness in the past.

The allegation could have ramifications in other sex crimes cases in Jackson County, where Smith performed lie-detector tests.

He is the SBI’s polygraph coordinator, overseeing all of the state’s lie detector agents. He has been with the agency since 1997.

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Polygrapher Patrick T. Coffey Threatens Lawsuit, Demands Retraction

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Patrick T. Coffey
Patrick T. Coffey

Polygraph operator Patrick T. Coffey of San Francisco has threatened AntiPolygraph.org co-founder George Maschke with a defamation lawsuit. In a letter (877 kb PDF) dated 4 September 2009 sent by U.S. mail and fax, Coffey’s attorney, Carleton L. Briggs, demands “a full and complete retraction” of the 20 August 2009 blog post, “Is Patrick T. Coffey Fit to Be Screening Police Applicants?”

The letter, ominously titled “Coffey v. SF Weekly, Maschke, et al.” begins (hyperlinks supplied):

I represent Patrick T. Coffey, the subject of an article entitled “Is Patrick Coffey Fit to Be Screening Police Applicants?” which appeared on your blog on August 20, 2009. Your article referred to, and contained a hyperlink to, an article entitled “The Lie Detective” by Matt Smith in the August 19-25 issue of SF Weekly, Volume 28, Number 30. I enclose a copy of your article and of the SF Weekly article, which quotes both you and your blog.

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Is Patrick T. Coffey Fit to Be Screening Police Applicants?

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Following up on his previous article on the San Francisco Police Department’s reliance on polygraph screening–despite broad scientific consensus that it is invalid–S.F. Weekly reporter Matt Smith takes an in-depth look at the man the SFPD has hired to polygraph applicants: Patrick T. Coffey, who received “$81,463 during the last fiscal year” for his services. … Read more

S.F. Weekly Rips San Francisco Police Department’s Reliance on Polygraphy

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In a well-researched article, S.F. Weekly reporter Matt Smith critically examines the SFPD’s reliance on polygraphy for applicant screening, despite it being completely discredited among scientists. Those interviewed include retired FBI scientist Dr. Drew Richardson, Professor Stephen Fienberg, who headed a National Academy of Sciences panel that  reviewed the scientific evidence on polygraphy, and polygraph … Read more

Polygraph Dragnet Planned in Houston Fire Department Harassment Investigation

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Fox 26 News KRVI in Houston, Texas reports that all employees at the Houston Fire Department’s Station 54 will be asked to submit to lie detector “testing” in a racial and sexual harassment investigation: HOUSTON – FOX 26 has learned that every employee at Houston Fire Department Fire Station 54 will be asked to take … Read more

Representative Darrell Issa Proposes Polygraph Screening for Congress

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Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) has proposed polygraph screening for members of Congress who receive CIA briefings. Susan Crabtree reports for The Hill: Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) wants fellow lawmakers who receive classified CIA briefings to submit to polygraph tests. “We should have a very high standard for those who are briefed by CIA — to … Read more

CIA Polygraph Operators Need to Have Their Heads Examined

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In a commentary addressing the case of retired CIA polygrapher John F. Sullivan, who is suing the CIA after failing a polygraph test for post-retirement contract employment, Congressional Quarterly National Security editor Jeff Stein, himself a veteran Army Intelligence case officer, proposes that CIA polygraphers — who “claim to be able to read the inner … Read more

AntiPolygraph.org Receives (and Rejects) a Copyright Takedown Request

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On Friday, 20 March 2009, AntiPolygraph.org received a communication from a lawyer for NCS Pearson, Inc. demanding the removal of a post from our message board that purports to list the first 75 questions of the 567-question Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Test 2 (MMPI-2). (A seemingly knowledgable poster on the message board maintains that the questions are not from the MMPI-2, but from the older MMPI.)

Many government agencies in the United States use the MMPI-2 to screen applicants for employment, so it is of considerable public interest. The post, made some three years ago, initiated one of the longest discussions on our message board–one that remains active with over 260 posts to date.

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