SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Police officer who was accused of giving a homeless man a feces sandwich has lost his bid to get his job back, multiple sources tell KENS 5.
On Monday, June 22, KENS 5 received a copy of the arbitration ruling. In it, the arbitrator rejected Matthew Luckhurst's appeal that his actions were a prank or horseplay and said they were "blantantly offensive, revolting, disgusting and demeaning."
Luckhurst had been indefinitely suspended from the force, and was attempting to get his job back. He had actually been issued two indefinite suspensions, stemming from multiple incidents, the first of which came in October 2016 and the second in December 2016.
The first indefinite suspension was overturned in 2019 due to a technicality that required Luckhurst to be disciplined within 180 days of the incident. The indefinite suspension for which Luckhurst is in arbitration relates to an incident in June 2016 where Luckhurst and another officer both defecated in the only female restroom at bike patrol.
Luckhurst is alleged to have spread a brown, feces-like substance on the toilet.
The arbitrator, Thomas Cipolla, also said, "The indefinite suspension of the appellant does not appear to be excessive, out of line or an abuse of discretion... This was a rather straight-forward case and I do not see any discrepancies or fatal flaws in the summary of the investigation."
