An environmental detective story
Sgt. Mike Walsh catches contaminating criminals

Looking for linkable evidence. Environmental detective Sgt. Mike Walsh searches for "fingerprints" in the trash of an illegal dumpsite. Since Jan. 1, 1993, the environmental investigations squad has investigated more than 20,000 complaints and arrested nearly 9,000 offenders. (Photo by John Perry)

By John Perry

Time: Every day.

Crime scene: A mechanic’s shop, processing plant or manufacturing site. A vacant lot or field. A drain leading into the city’s sewer system. A slope by a bayou. The ship channel. Or across your neighbor’s fence.

Crime: Contaminating soil, water or air. Creating an environmental health hazard for humans and animals.

Suspects: Violators who improperly store, transport or dispose of solid or liquid wastes.

Victims: All of us.

Detectives: The environmental investigations squad: Sgts. Mike Walsh and Larry Doss, four other HPD officers and five civilian inspectors with backup from the Public Works & Engineering Department. They enforce the city’s environmental codes.

“About 90 percent of our investigations are reactive,” Walsh said. “We depend on the citizens to report offenses. The eyes and ears of 1.7 million citizens are our first line of defense against environmental violators.”

Walsh first tries to interview the witness reporting the violation. But sometimes they choose to remain anonymous. Without an eyewitness he must visit the site and search for “linkable evidence” to identify the violator.

Linkable evidence
“You’d be surprised how much you can find out by digging through these dump sites,” Walsh said. “Household trash can have a name and address, while truck tires and 55-gallon drums have code numbers.

“It’s like finding fingerprints in the trash. Our statistics show that the perpetrator usually lives within a three-mile radius of the illegal dumping site.”

But sometimes they don’t.

Car tires are untraceable, Walsh said. They present a big problem for the landowner who, by law, has to clean up if the guilty party cannot be found.

Sometimes evidence is found from other crime scenes such as burned-out vehicles. Sadly, dead bodies are occasionally found, Walsh said.

After service in the Air Force, Walsh joined HPD in 1985 and the environmental unit in August 1993, just four months after its formation. He was promoted to sergeant in 1994.

Stopping the bad guys
“One of the worst cases I investigated was where an electroplater recruited a homeless man to clean up hazardous heavy metal wastes without protective gear,” Walsh said. “The poor guy became sick from a high level of chromium in his blood.”

Walsh said the electroplater was later convicted on five charges with the jury handing down the maximum sentence on each count.

“Harris County juries aren’t lenient toward environmental polluters,” Walsh said.

The environmental unit has posted a 95 percent conviction rate over the last 11 years.

Statistics tell the tale: 5,606 dumps have been voluntarily cleaned up, and 228 million pounds of waste voluntarily removed. This translates into an $18 million savings to the city for not having to do the environmental remediation.

The squad is part of an inter-agency task force that includes the Environmental Protection Agency, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Coast Guard, Health and Human Services Department and Harris County Pollution Control.

Lt. Mark Glentzer, major offenders division and Walsh’s supervisor, praised his investigative skills.

“His professional growth corresponds directly to the growth of this unit,” Glentzer said. “He’s often sought after by adjacent counties and police departments to give advice. He’s one of the best at backtracking pollution to its source.”

Confronting a next-door nuisance
Not all cases end up in court. Sometimes, Walsh’s presence is enough to set the situation right.

After trying a series of agencies, Julie A. Alber of Kingwood heard about Walsh’s unit and asked for help. Her next-door neighbor was kenneling three dogs and washing pet wastes into her backyard. The stench was unbearable. When she approached the neighbor, he became uncooperative and belligerent.

Then Walsh stepped in.

“Sgt. Walsh did, in less than 10 days, what other agencies I had contacted couldn’t do in three months,” Alber wrote. “He was courteous, helpful and professional. From my first interaction with him to the last, I felt as though my situation was taken very seriously.”

Walsh, a married father of four, ages 22, 20, 14 and 13, is proud of what his unit has accomplished.

“We’ve made a significant impact on the environment and improved the quality of life for the citizens of Houston,” Walsh said. “I feel good about helping make a cleaner environment for our citizens and for my children.”

Mayor Bill White concurs.

“Efficient public service and improving the quality of life for our citizens are two of the driving directives for this administration,” White said. “Sgt. Michael Walsh is doing a splendid job fulfilling both initiatives. His work within the environmental investigations squad sets a high standard.”