Our U. S. Government At Work

From the San Fran Chronicle: The National Park Service purposely destroyed evidence in the wrongful death case of a 9-year-old boy who was crushed by a retaining wall in a Northern California park, a federal magistrate judge said.

Magistrate Judge Gregory G. Hollows ruled Wednesday that Park Service officials intentionally demolished the retaining wall before investigators could examine it. As punishment, he recommended that the judge overseeing the case formally find the Park Service negligent in Tommy Botell's death. Such a finding by U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell would give a big boost to the Botell family's lawsuit.

Hollows' findings are not binding, and the final decision rests with Burrell.

Still, the magistrate was unstinting in his rebuke of the Park Service's handling of the case. He rejected the government's arguments that workers knocked down what remained of the wall shortly after the July 29, 2009, accident in Lassen Volcanic National Park because they felt it posed a danger to other hikers.

The magistrate said there was no need to destroy the wall because "there is no doubt that the scene of the accident, i.e., the remaining part of the wall, was important for investigative purposes."

He said Park Service officials could have closed the trail or erected a barrier around the accident site to preserve the evidence.

Instead, Hollows wrote, "it has become all too apparent that the defendant has purposely destroyed material evidence in this case."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/Judge-Park-Service-ruined-evidence-in-Calif-death-4374634.php#ixzz2OEzSsRbn
The government is supposed to work for the people, not against, even if the government made a mistake.
I hope, but am not hopeful, that some people will be prosecuted or even fired, but in the U.S. government, no one, from the top on down are ever held responsible.