Heckler: Ferman Made Right Decision On Police Report
Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler says his Montgomery County counterpart made the right decision by refusing to release a police report on an April contact between nine-year-old Skyler Kauffman and her accused killer, 24-year-old James Lee Troutman.
She was raped and beaten to death earlier this month at the Souderton Gardens Apartments. Heckler says he agrees with Risa Ferman, and there is no way he would consider releasing such a report at this time in his jurisdiction. He says the report will come out in court at the proper time, and its premature release would violate the rules of professional conduct for lawyers. Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel has called on Ferman to release the report to answer questions about whether Souderton Police acted properly in the earlier contact. Heckler says he knows and respects Hoeffel, but district attorneys don’t answer to commissioners in matters of criminal prosecution, and it might be political partisanship on Hoeffel’s part.
