Police investigating a City Council member of Queens, Dennis Gallagher, are searching for DNA evidence in a case that appears to be related to an allegation of sexual misconduct, Mr. Gallagher ‘s lawyer said yesterday.

Police and officials from the Queens district attorney’s office would not comment on the investigation or say why it is being conducted. As of press time, Mr. Gallagher had not been charged with a crime.

On Monday, police entered Mr. Gallagher’s district office in Middle Village and rifled through garbage in the courtyard behind the office, onlookers said. They said they saw at least a dozen police officers at the scene.

The lawyer said he was told that the search warrant carried by police stated they were searching for DNA material. He told the Associated Press that he had been told the warrant was issued because of “some woman that’s making sexual assault-type allegations.” The president of the Juniper Park Civic Association, Robert Holden, said he arrived at Mr. Gallagher’s office at about 6 p.m. on Monday and saw at least 10 police officers, half of whom wore blue rubber gloves while sorting through the garbage. He watched the police for about two hours before leaving, he said.

“They just had boxes they were carrying,” he said. “Bags and boxes of their tools.”

Mr. Gallagher denies any wrongdoing, his lawyer, Stephen Mahler, said.

He said no one was at the office when the police arrived, but later added that someone must have let the officers in, as they did not use force to enter.

Mr. Mahler said he has advised Mr. Gallagher not to conduct any interviews.

Mr. Gallagher, who lives with his wife and two children in Middle Village, was elected to the council in 2001 and is one of three Republicans on the 51-member body. He is a former investigator for the State of New York Crime Victims Board and was chief of staff to a former council minority leader, Thomas Ognibene.

According to a report in a weekly Queens and Brooklyn newspaper, the Times Newsweekly, Mr. Gallagher was accused by a Democratic candidate running against him in the 2001 council race of selling pornography out of a high school, a charge Mr. Gallagher denied.

Commissioner Raymond Kelly declined to comment on the raid and Speaker Christine Quinn, during a press conference broadcast on NY1, said she would not comment on an ongoing investigation.

News of the police raid and possible allegation circulated quickly among council members yesterday, some of whom said they were stunned by the investigation.

“I’m shocked by this,” a council member of Queens, Peter Vallone Jr., said. “Dennis is a close friend of mine and he’s as honest and as ethical as they come.”

The council has dealt with allegations of sexual misconduct against its members in the past, but in two recent cases the members have not faced criminal charges.

In April 2005, the council censured a Queens Democrat, Allan Jennings Jr., after five women accused him sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior. A council investigation found he sexually harassed two of his female employees. He was fined $5,000, stripped of his committee assignments, and required to attend anger-management classes.

In 2004, the chief of staff to Council Member Vincent Gentile, John Martin, filed a sexual harassment complaint against Mr. Gentile, but no council action was taken.