Correctional Officers know the games inmates play. But things can change when there’s a new officer. A rookie, like Mr. Leon T. Jordan. One wonders whether Officer Dancer mentioned Jordan’s status as a way of placing blame on the “new guy.” As in, the new guy didn’t know any better. Hence, the untoward disappearance of Robert Hansen’s little piece of evidence. Blame it on the new guy.
“Mr. Jordan was interviewed at the Alaska State Jail at approximately 5:00 PM, 12-29-71. He stated as follows:
MR. JORDAN: “After Mr. Dancer had finished dressing Mr. Hansen out, he brought him back to the booking desk to be booked. I took Mr. Hansen’s wallet out of the plastic bag and emptied the contents out to inventory and count the money. After noting the contents, they were returned to the wallet and Mr. Hansen said something about maybe having more money hidden in his wallet.
My back was turned momentarily
Officer Jordan
MR. JORDAN: My back was turned momentarily and I thought I saw Mr. Hansen out of the corner of my eye take a slip of paper out of the wallet and conceal it in his hand. Moments later Mr. Dancer took Mr. Hansen in to fingerprint him and I told him to shake him down for a piece of paper, which he did, finding a crumpled-up piece in his back pocket.
“When Mr. Hansen was asked about this, he said it was the name of the man that was going to raise money to bail him out the next day and he needed it. He (Dancer) allowed Mr. Hansen to keep this paper and made a note of it and the name to place in his jacket.”
So how did the new guy do? Well, he probably shouldn’t have turned his back on the new inmate. But Hansen wasn’t quick enough. Jordan did right by calling out Hansen’s deceptive grab. From there, the action moves to Officer Dancer, who allegedly had more experience.
Of the two, it was Dancer who should have been aware that Hansen was up to something. Yet he bought the bail story, hook, line and sinker. Good move to write down the information on the paper. Bad move to give Hansen the original. And why, oh why, oh why were neither them aware of the search warrant application for that very piece of paper?
Copyright Leland E. Hale (2020). All rights reserved.
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