Galveston Hides Police Patrol Records
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What Are They Really Hiding On The Island?
Forty thousand people call Galveston Island home, but seven million tourists flock there every year.
Our investigation has begun in the wake of a billboard erected by frustrated Galveston police officers complaining about lousy pensions.
One of our questions.
Does Galveston even have enough police cars on the streets protecting all these visitors?
Tonight, the City of Galveston is trying to keep records of police car movements from the past a secret. It will not only show taxpayers where the police cars were on busy weekends last month, but how many Galveston police officers are on the street during a busy weekend.
We’ve been told only 12 patrol cars were on the streets on the nights we tried to examine.
We think the folks who visit Galveston have a right to know about the ability of Galveston to protect them. We think taxpayers should know if their first responders need more help, better cars and a better pension after decades of service.
Assistant City Attorney Mehran Jadidi claims knowing where a police car was three weeks ago would “interfere with the ability of the Galveston Police Department to respond to events, even find criminals… a tactical advantage to any entity wishing to evade the Galveston Police Department.”
“So, let me get this straight. A crook is going to get an advantage over the good guys, knowing that three weeks ago at 5 o’clock on a Friday night there was a patrol car driving down Seawall Blvd and 6st Street?” says Wayne Dolcefino, President of Dolcefino Consulting. “This is nothing more than a way to hide the use of tax money by the City of Galveston.”
In recent weeks since we saw the police billboard leaving the island, Dolcefino Consulting began examining ways to see if there is more money that could go to actually help the police.
“A top island patrol officer risking their lives for 20 years shouldn’t have to live on a pension of less than $30,000 a year, says Dolcefino, “especially while business is booming at the Port of Galveston. We also are looking at records detailing the sorry state of some of the island patrol cars.”
Stay tuned.
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