Massachusetts Drug Lab Scandal RIGGEDLabs Podcast Celebrates National Police Week 2026 | S3E76 - RIGGEDLabs Podcast

Episode 76

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Published on:

16th May 2026

RIGGEDLabs Podcast Celebrates National Police Week 2026 | S3E76

This month of May 2026, the RIGGEDLabs Awareness Community joins the nation to honor the courage, sacrifice and dedication of law enforcement officers across the United States. National Police Week was originally established in 1962 by President John F. Kennedy's presidential proclamation.

National Police Week 2026 was observed from May 10 to May 16, 2026, with Peace Officers Memorial Day designated on May 15, 2026. The week-long series of events included the 30th annual Police Unity Tour, the Candlelight Vigil on the National Mall, and the 45th Annual National Peace Officers Memorial Service.

Key Facts About National Police Week

  • Presidential Proclamation, 1962: National Police Week was established in 1962 when President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation designating May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week in which it falls as National Police Week. The week honors fallen officers and recognizes law enforcement nationwide.
  • Presidential Proclamation, 2026: President Donald J. Trump issued a proclamation designating the week and ordering United States flags to be flown at half-staff on May 15.
  • May 15, 2026: Peace Officers Memorial Day
  • May 15, 2026: Jamie Folk, host of RIGGEDLabs Podcast, releases a tribute episode to honor all Police/Law Enforcement Officers who serve the public (and the most vulnerable, the innocent) with dignity, integrity, and courage; and offer a special tribute to Officer Lawrence P (Larry) Smith of Massachusetts — U.S. Air Force veteran, retired Massachusetts State Police Sergeant, and former Task Force Officer with Homeland Security Investigations’ Document Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF) and the DEA’s Group 1 in Boston.
  • Learn more about Lawrence P Smith at LPSmithAuthor.com
“You can’t blow the whistle when every institution designed to uphold integrity consistently turns a blind eye.” ~ Lawrence P. (Larry) Smith

About RIGGEDLabs Awareness Podcast & Community

RIGGEDLabs Podcast prides itself on being the unique podcast, digital platform, and thinking framework dedicated to help its listeners build protective and defensive awareness against dishonest manipulations of forensic evidence in rigged laboratories across the United States.

Established in 2020, RIGGEDLabs Podcast stated by exposing widespread evidence falsifications, wrongful convictions, corruptions, cover ups, and waste of the tax payers’ funds resulting from the Massachusetts forensic labs scandals that were uncovered from 2011 forward.

With the courageous dedication of a team passionate researchers, legal experts, committed storytellers, and their reputable guests; “RIGGED:” has expanded its efforts to reaching a growing listenership, building a devoted community, advocating for the innocent victims of wrongful convictions, and demanding accountability, corrective change, and reform in our criminal justice system.

  • Become a listener.
  • Listen to RIGGEDLabs Awareness Podcast on the website at Podcast.RIGGEDLabs.com or on your favorite podcast platform.
  • Join RIGGEDLabs Awareness Community on Patreon or Facebook.
  • Support RIGGEDLabs at Support.RIGGEDLabs.com
  • Subscribe to RIGGEDLabs Monthly Newsletter - entry form is at the bottom of the page.
  • Shop RIGGEDLabs Awareness GEAR SHOP.
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Previously titled as "Celebrating National Police Week - RIGGEDLabs Awareness Podcast" S3E76.0 | SEASON 3, Episode 76.0

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Read the full article/blog post and more at RIGGEDLabs.com.

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About the Podcast

RIGGEDLabs Podcast
Hosts Jamie Folk and Ilyas Rona take a deep dive into the case responsible for the greatest violation of constitutional rights in Massachusetts history
On September 28, 2012, Massachusetts state chemist Annie Dookhan was arrested and charged with obstruction of justice and falsification of academic records. Approximately four months later another chemist, Sonja Farak, was arrested for using the drugs she was supposed to be testing and the Massachusetts Drug Lab Scandal was born.

Hosts Jamie Folk and Ilyas Rona will be exploring the William H Hinton, UMass Amherst and State Police crime labs associated with this scandal and speak with the lawyers whose clients rights were violated as a result of the fraud committed by the chemists in these labs. Through their investigation of this case, Folk and Rona have found that the crimes of Dookhan and Farak were just the tip of the iceberg and that multiple chemists from three state labs lied on the stand, knowingly sent people to jail for possessing drugs that were not illegal and wanted to help law enforcement send as many people to jail as possible.

Jamie Folk is an independent journal who has been investigating this case since Dookhan's arrest was first reported. He has obtained over 70k documents from the state and has interviewed several lawyers, journalists, politicians, law enforcement officials and others connected with the case over the past 7 years.

Ilyas Rona is a lawyer who represented a man sent to prison by Dookhan and another Hinton lab chemist for possessing what turned out to be a cashew for two years. He has been investigating the Hinton, Amherst and State Police labs ever since.

Season 3 begins the exploration of cases outside of Massachusetts in the hope of shining a light on other drug lab scandals throughout the country.
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About your host

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James Folk

Jamie Folk has been researching and reporting on the Massachusetts Drug Lab Scandal since 2013. He has worked in the biotech industry around Boston for the past 17 years in the Quality Assurance space. He was a volunteer with the Massachusetts Department of Corrections from 2010 to 2015 running the Alternatives to Violence (AVP) workshops for inmates and met many victims of these labs in prison.