Mart chief resigns, leaves city with no police force

In a move that leaves the city of Mart without a police force, Chief Paul Cardenas worked out a deal Tuesday morning with the city council where he turned in his resignation.

Cardenas' departure is the final domino to fall in a chain of events that included the resignations of all five members of the Mart Police Department over the last two weeks.

Reports out of Mart indicate Cardenas has come under fire by a member of the community.

That person says he released information about her that put her life in danger.

However, Cardenas denied that at a meeting last week.

One Mart resident, present at Tuesday morning's meeting, said she was "disgusted" with the fact there's currently no police department.

The McLennan County Sheriff's Office has agreed to patrol the city until a new chief and new officers are hired.