Video Evidence Differs From Officer’s Report



Bexar County patch
Bexar County patch

Patrol Officer Fired for False Report

(TX) – Deputy Joel Chavez, with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, was fired for an incident that happened in 2019. In September of 2019, Deputy Chavez pulled over an individual who was speeding. The traffic stop turned into a drug arrest. Chavez has been a patrol officer since he graduated “from their 2018 Bravo patrol class.” At the time of the incident, Deputy Chavez had not even been a patrol officer for a full two years. But inexperience can’t be the the issue. Hiding his real actions shows he knew those actions were wrong.

Possession of a Controlled Substance

According to Chavez’s report, he approached the car and introduced himself to the driver. It goes on to say, “he felt compelled to search the man’s vehicle after he appeared to reach under his seat and noticed a metal dish with a white powdery substance.” The driver was arrested for possession of a controlled substance.

However, Deputy Chavez was dealing with an affluent individual. The car had internal video. That video evidence shows Deputy Chavez immediately ordering the driver to place his hands on the wheel. Chavez placed the driver under arrest then began to search the vehicle. He found “the suspected contraband in the center console and the metal tray inside the glovebox compartment.” The Sheriff’s Office determined that Chavez would not have been able to see the substance from his viewpoint. And it’s obvious he couldn’t see the metal dish since it was in the glovebox.

Neither article says what happened to the drug case, but it was probably dismissed.

Police Misconduct Leads to Termination

Deputy Chavez, contrary to his claim, was not able to see the contraband. That means he had no grounds for an arrest or search. The deputy conducted an illegal search and seizure. Chavez was issued his proposed termination paperwork in December of 2020, more than a year after the incident. And he was issued his termination paperwork on March 1 of this year. The termination paperwork listed his misconduct which included “false information in records, conduct unbecoming of an officer and violations of the law.” Deputy Joel Chavez will still be able to contest his termination.

Bias at the Sheriff’s Office

We just published a post on Sheriff Salazar’s poor leadership. It’s easier to say who the sheriff favors than who he has no regard for. If you are a male law enforcement officer, Sheriff Salazar will try to protect you if he can. It doesn’t appear that anyone else at the agency, matters to him. Just look at the differences in treatment.

The two jailers, a male and a female, were fired within three days of the incident. The male jailer was immediately arrested. Salazar said he’s hoping to add federal charges and says he’s looking into it. The female was fired because they felt she knew what was going to happen, but no proof was given that she did. She was not even in the living unit when the assault occurred.

Still, Salazar made a point of giving out all the female jailer’s information, even her picture, to the media. All we know for sure is that she was a victim of an inmate’s cat-call, and she was fired. And as usual, Salazar gave his chest-thumping spiel about how he won’t put up with misconduct.

Then there’s the law enforcement officer. It took over a year for them to do anything to him. How many people did the deputy lie about in his reports before they decided to act? How many people had their civil rights violated, but didn’t have the money to fight it like this person did? Why wasn’t a press conference held to announce the deputy’s misconduct? Why wasn’t a picture of Deputy Chavez released to be splashed across the media?

Let me point out something in an above quote. The termination paperwork says the deputy committed “violations of the law.” Why haven’t criminal charges been filed? Where is Salazar’s chest-thumping on this police misconduct?

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