A Corpus Christi police officer is facing theft charges after a grand jury indicted him on February 5, 2026. Travis Haecker, 32, works for the Corpus Christi Police Department. He turned himself in on December 12, 2025, before the formal indictment came down. Both the arrest and the indictment come from the same investigation.
Haecker held a position of trust inside the department. He was the liaison between the Corpus Christi Police Department and the Corpus Christi Citizens Police Academy Alumni. That group is a nonprofit made up of community members. Now investigators say Haecker used that trust to steal from the very group he was supposed to work with. A police officer accused of stealing from a community nonprofit strikes at something bigger than one case. Nonprofits depend on trust to raise money and do their work. When the person meant to protect that trust is the one accused of breaking it, the whole community feels it.
As liaison, Haecker connected officers with the alumni group. The group supports the police department and works closely with officers. Part of his job was managing that relationship day to day. Investigators say he also had access to money and cards tied to the nonprofit because of that role.
The allegations center on a credit card that belonged to the nonprofit. Investigators say Haecker misused that card for months. They allege he made six unauthorized ATM withdrawals. Those withdrawals added up to $1,200. The withdrawals happened between April and May of 2025. Investigators also say he ran up more than $500 in other charges. Those charges came from online gambling sites and vape shops. All of it, investigators allege, went on the nonprofit's card.
The case does not stop at the credit card. Investigators also allege Haecker deposited donation checks meant for the nonprofit. They say he deposited those checks under a fake name. That means the money would not trace back to him right away. Investigators separately flagged suspicious fuel purchases. Those purchases used a gas card issued by the police department, not the nonprofit.
A grand jury indicted Haecker on four charges tied to the investigation. The lead charge is theft of property between $2,500 and $30,000. That is a third degree felony, which can mean 2 to 20 years in prison. He also faces two counts of credit card or debit card abuse. Both of those counts are state jail felonies, a lower level felony that still means real prison time. A fourth charge is misapplication of fiduciary property between $750 and $2,500. Misapplication means misusing money someone trusted him to manage the right way. That charge is a misdemeanor, a less serious criminal charge than a felony.
These are allegations laid out in the indictment, not proof of guilt. Haecker has not been convicted of anything. Like every defendant, he is presumed innocent unless a court says otherwise. The facts of the case will be argued out in court.
Cases like this test public trust in more than one institution at once. A nonprofit built to support local police now says one of its own liaisons stole from it. The Corpus Christi Police Department has pulled Haecker off duty while the case moves forward. Neighbors who give money to groups like the alumni association expect that money to stay safe.
Haecker remains on administrative leave from the police department. He has not been fired, and he has not been reinstated to regular duty either. Arrest documents note he has not paid back the money investigators say he took. His case is scheduled for a court date on March 19, 2026. Until then, the charges stand as accusations. What happens in court will decide whether they hold up.
