/ HPD Crime Lab

HOUSTON -- The Houston City Council Public Safety Committee is where city departments charged with protecting the community are supposed to be held accountable. So, when it came time to review the Houston Police Department's troubled crime lab and its DNA section, one would assume lab director Irma Rios would be in an uncomfortable hot seat.

However, five months after the DNA section of the lab was shut down and its manager resigned in another scandal, the City Council members who sit on the committee did not have any tough questions to ask of Rios.

“As you can see, there is some good news. We have some real accomplishments to report,” committee chairwoman Melissa Noriega said at the start of the meeting.

The praise did not stop there.

“I want to thank you very much Ms. Rios for all your hard work and leadership,” said committee member Anne Clutterbuck.

No questions about the proficiency testing scandal that closed the lab down. There were questions about a recent trip to England by lab personnel who were on a “fact finding mission” on the use of private crime labs.

“Are there many privatized crime labs in America also?” councilman M.J. Khan asked Rios.

The answer is yes. As a matter of fact, that is exactly where the city of Houston has been spending hundreds of thousands of dollars as it sends out all DNA testing while the HPD lab has been closed.

No questions about that though.

So, 11 News asked Noriega why there were no questions about the scandal.

“That is a very, very legitimate point. I don't disagree with you at all,” she said.

There was some new news during the meeting. The HPD lab does have a new DNA manager. Nearly half a year since the last manager left under a cloud of scandal, Dr. Laura Gahn has been hired.

After the meeting, 11 News asked Rios why it took so long to find a new DNA lab manager.

“It is difficult to find individuals in certain parts of the lab to come work for HPD,” she said. “The lab has been under intense scrutiny.”

Gahn said she welcomes the challenge.

“I have talked to people that are enthusiastic about it for the same reasons I am,” said Gahn. "You can come in here and build something great.”

Even with a new manager, the DNA section is not yet back up and running, and officials said they do not know when it will re-open. Up to six positions have to be filled, and those new hires must be tested before the lab can handle any real cases.