Police Sgt. Muhammad Khaldun Bin Sarif was asked by government lawyers during the inquest as to why police had not ordered a further investigation of the apartment.
Bin Sarif said that he and his partner had made 'a preliminary assessment' that pointed to suicide and determined there were 'no signs of foul play.'
He said the officers decided as a result 'not to perform fingerprint dustings or DNA swabs.'
Asked why he had deviated from police protocols by assessing a personal laptop at a crime scene, Khaldun said he had found two notes in Todd's apartment, one of which contained a password which he used to gain access to the laptop nearby.
Suspicion: Shane Todd's parents think he could have been killed over his research into a technology with both civilian and military applications
Khaldun explained that the protocol was only 'a guideline which can be deviated from.'
He said he and his partner made an 'operational decision' to assess Todd's laptop because the note containing the password 'was left there for a reason' and would help police in determining whether there was foul play involved.
Todd's family has asked why police accessed his laptop and cellphone even though such items are supposed to be handed over to forensic technology specialists.
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