SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio police officer is in the hospital after another member of the force crashed into them early Thursday morning, SAPD says.
The accident happened just after midnight while the two officers were responding to an "officer in trouble" call near West Avenue and Basse Road.
Both officers were heading west when both made left turns onto Basse Road, according to police. One of the officers miscalculated the turn and hit the other San Antonio Police unit.
The sergeant on the scene described it as a "pit maneuver"-style hit, but the impact was so strong, it sent the other patrol car into a pole.
Firefighters had to cut that officer out of his vehicle, and he was taken to the hospital, but he should recover. The officer may have suffered multiple broken ribs and will be x-rayed for additional injuries. An SAPD spokesperson said that officer may be recovering in the hospital for several days.
The other officer who hit him was also taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure.
One of the officers is from West Patrol and other is from Central Patrol. The names of the officers have not been released to the public.
Officers who are on the road all day, every day, often in the worst of conditions, do find themselves involved in crashes on a regular basis.
Fire and Police Civil Service Commission records provide a look into what happens after the incidents, when officers are sometimes disciplined if they are found to be at fault.
In May 2023, for example, three officers were handed one-day suspensions for being involved in crashes.
Two more drew one day each for hitting curbs and another officer forfeited a day's pay for driving over spikes in a parking garage.
In April, two officers were penalized with three-day suspensions and another received a one-day punishment.
In all of these cases, the officers chose to give up vacation, holiday or compensatory time to settle the matter.
Comparing discipline for crashes to other rule infractions, recent cases include one officer who got 3 days for an accidental discharge of a weapon, one was handed a ten-day punishment for using a police computer to look someone up for a personal reason. Another got a 22-day punishment for an excessive force complaint and two more drew 45-days for being involved in off-duty disturbances.
Other recent punishments handed down involved:
- Failing to properly search prisoners before their arrival at jail
- Failure to secure property in a secure lock up
- Improperly coding a disturbance call
- Mishandling a DWI offense
KENS 5 requested one year's worth of statistics to see how many crashes have happened and the dollar amount of damages involved.
When we get the information, we'll pass it along.
This is a developing story and further updates will be added as they are received. Check back to this article for details.
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