GALVESTON — The Texas Rangers are sending 10 agents to the island to audit the Galveston Police Department’s property room after District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk was forced to dismiss 16 cases because of compromised evidence.

Late last month, police officials fired a civilian employee after about $18,000 in cash and an undisclosed amount of cocaine, hydrocodone and ecstasy disappeared from the property room.

To date, no one has been charged in the case, and city officials have declined to release the name of the fired employee. Charges likely won’t be filed until the state’s investigation is complete, said City Manager Steve LeBlanc.

Local officers began a criminal investigation into the missing items, but Sistrunk and city and county officials decided the evidence remaining in the property room should be examined by an outside law enforcement team.

2,100 Cases

The Rangers will spend about four weeks, starting May 19, combing through the evidence. They will work out of recreational vehicles parked outside the police department, LeBlanc said.

Starting with the 2,100 cases Sistrunk listed as a priority, the state investigators will work around the clock until all of the evidence has been cataloged, LeBlanc said.

Once the investigation is complete, more local cases could be dismissed because of compromised evidence, LeBlanc said.

The city council gave LeBlanc permission to spend up to $50,000 on the investigation, but LeBlanc told the council it likely would cost less than that.

The investigators also will make recommendations about how evidence, including weapons and explosive materials, should be stored in the future.

LeBlanc promised the council that someone within the police department’s chain of command would be held responsible for any security or management deficiencies that made the property room theft possible.

Departmental Changes

That accountability might have started at the top when Police Chief Kenneth Mack retired on April 11.

Mack gave just one week’s notice before his departure, and officials did not shower him with praise when he left the department after 28 years.

LeBlanc has been unwilling to discuss the details of Mack’s departure, saying only that it was the chief’s decision and a personnel matter.

Mack never responded to any requests from The Daily News for an interview after his announcement.

The property room theft was the third blow to Mack and the department in recent months.

Earlier this year, one of the department’s female employees filed suit against the city, alleging repeated incidents of sexual harassment.

And on March 16, residents were outraged after officers failed to control a postconcert traffic jam at Seawall Boulevard and Broadway that turned into a street party and mini-riot.

LeBlanc will begin interviewing candidates for the chief’s position in the next few weeks.

As of Friday, 19 people had applied for the job, including one current department employee.

LeBlanc said he didn’t have a target date for hiring a new chief but hoped to make a decision as soon as possible.

Management Review

The new leader will almost instantly have a new set of policies and changes to implement.

The city is spending up to $28,000 on a police management study, which will start just six days before the property room audit.

The management review is not connected to the property room audit, but officials said they felt the need to do a complete review of the police department in light of the changes it’s going through, LeBlanc said.

Junction Consulting, based near Dallas, will review the department’s training records, policies and procedures, budget and personnel structure.

The department went through the same review process five years ago, and most of the recommendations made then have been implemented, LeBlanc said.