Police: Hundreds of hours spent on acid case

Vancouver’s already stretched police department spent hundreds of hours investigating Bethany Storro’s false claim that a random stranger threw acid in her face, a police spokeswoman said Friday.

A department budget officer is looking at the overtime and other costs associated with the case, but an estimate won’t be available until next week, spokeswoman Kim Kapp said. Up to six or seven people were on the case for different lengths of time over the course of the more than two-week investigation, she said.

“It’s definitely been a lot of time put into it and long hours and phone calls,” she said.

Storro, 28, admitted to police Thursday that her story that a black woman threw acid in her face near Esther Short Park in downtown Vancouver was not true.

Vancouver police had to balance Storro’s case with several other major incidents, including a toddler who was struck and killed in the road, an officer-involved shooting and a serious car accident, Kapp said.

Kapp said that the department could be paid back for its time if they were listed in any court ordered restitution judgment against Storro, should charges be filed. It would be up to city attorney’s office to decide whether to seek any other restitution in the form of a suit, she said.