D.C. Police Official Warned Of 'File Burn'

D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department has launched an investiagtion into how police and fire department files, some of them personnel-related, were destroyed last week. According to an email from a D.C. police staffer, workers were advised about a "file burn,'' one day before personnel records were found on fire in dumpsters.

The email obtained by The Associated Press was sent last Thursday by Marvin Haiman of the department's recruiting bureau. It advises staff members to leave any items they need destroyed in the hallway. The following day, firefighters found three dumpsters full of burning documents at the fire department's training academy, according to a letter sent Tuesday to the D.C. inspector general.

Firefighters noticed that at least some of the documents were personnel records for members of the Metropolitan Police Department and the Fire and Emergency Medical Services department, AP reports. The letter says there were also unburned documents found in an abandoned car and scattered on the ground at the training facility.

At least one command staff member, Assistant Chief Patrick Burke, is copied on the email.

Haiman declined to comment Wednesday because of an internal affairs investigation. Department spokeswoman Gwendolyn Crump, who earlier Wednesday announced the investigation, confirmed the authenticity of the email and says it will be reviewed during the investigation.