Your spot on. He is a good guy who made a mistake in not supervising the officer in charge of the evidence room. There is more to the story regarding the officer that killed herself but not sure it will ever see the light of day.
Chief Russell put her in charge of the evidence room knowing she had issues. He couldn’t fire her since she was the wife of the deputy fire chief. He allowed this mess to fester for 3 years. The Mayor will be the next one on the chopping block.