SAN ANTONIO — The Bexar County Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday that two indictments had been filed in connection with an incident at the Bexar County Jail last year.
On June 6, 2017, deputies Michael Gomez and Joseph Anthony Hernandez responded to a "disturbance" involving 25-year-old inmate Christian Robert Crader, according to Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar. During their response, Salazar says one deputy struck the inmate with a stick while Crader was in the process of surrendering.
The deputies didn't stop there, Salazar says. Once the inmate had been handcuffed, the other deputy punched him in the face.
Gomez and Hernandez were part of the Special Emergency Response Team called in that day to handle the incident involving Crader. Two of their fellow SERT team members reported the alleged wrongdoing, at which point the Public Integrity Unit started its investigation.
Gomez and Hernandez were then placed on administrative duty.
"Unfortunately, these deputies began to retaliate to a certain extent against deputies who had reported them, and even deputies who were investigating the crime, Sheriff Salazar said at a news conference Wednesday. He said the two began to retaliate against the deputies who had reported them, as well as against investigators.
Following these retaliations, both deputies were placed on administrative leave in January. Deputy Gomez resigned March 30 while on leave. He had been with the department for four years; Hernandez for two.
The case was presented to a grand jury Wednesday morning, at which point charges were filed against Gomez and Hernandez. Gomez and Hernandez surrendered and were placed in custody Wednesday evening.
The deputies each face one count of Official Oppression, one count of Assault Bodily Injury, and one count of Violation of the Civil Rights of Person in Custody.
The Sheriff's Office says that the Public Integrity Unit's investigation is continuing, and Sheriff Salazar says he expects more charges to be filed against Gomez and Hernandez in conjunction with their retaliation.
Sheriff Salazar also praised the deputies who reported the incident at the jail, saying that he takes "comfort in the fact that other deputies did the right thing."