Former DNA Analyst speaks to KXAN

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The former Austin Police Department DNA analyst who raised concerns about work done at APD’s DNA lab says she only did what she was told by higher-ups at APD. 

Cecily Hamilton spoke exclusively to KXAN outside the courtroom of Travis County Judge Bob Perkins on Monday.

Hamilton said when she vetted her concerns through the ranks of APD, she was told by an assistant chief at the department to put them in a memo.

That 28-page memo is now at the center of a controversy that has APD and the Travis County DA's office calling for an independent investigation into the lab.

“I think that the way this has been handled is going to have a terrible effect on casework that has been performed over the past few years,” says Hamilton.

Hamilton says life has been “pretty horrible” since APD made the memo public. The memo authored by Hamilton outlines her concerns related to, among other things, the training of another DNA analyst.

“I think there is one employee who has issues performing DNA analysis which is exactly what I said in my memorandum,” said Hamilton.

Members of APD and the man in charge of the DNA lab have said Hamilton is simply a disgruntled former employee.

“I was not a disgruntled employee. I was dissatisfied with the way that the current supervisor, technical leader, was operating the DNA laboratory,” said Hamilton. 

The Travis County DA’s office says as many as 2,000 cases could be affected as a result of the investigation.

“My greatest concern is that the good quality work that has been done at the laboratory is now going to be scrutinized as not being quality and then the issues that really have problems are going to be covered up,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton is no longer an employee of APD. She says she resigned back in May because the DNA lab had become a hostile work environment.