SAN ANTONIO — The Deputy Sheriff's Association of Bexar County is condemning Sheriff Javier Salazar and his administration over the decision to place a deputy on "desk duty" following a Monday night pursuit.
According to a news release from DSABC, the deputy spotted a stolen vehicle Monday night and, just as back up was arriving, the driver of the stolen vehicle took off.
The union stated that the deputy who was placed on administrative duty radioed her supervisor to request permission to pursue the driver and "followed all county policies to the letter." The deputy was granted permission to chase down the driver, according to the union.
The pursuit ended when the suspect crashed into another vehicle.
"(The suspect) was successfully apprehended by the pursuing deputy," the news release states. "The victims in the car that was struck by the suspect were unharmed and they refused to file any charges."
The deputy, who is not named in the news release, was subsequently placed on administrative duty "and taken off her normal duties simply because she enforced the law, took a car thief off the streets of Bexar County and returned the stolen property."
The Bexar County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to a request for preliminary information about the incident, but released the following statement:
“The Patrol Deputy involved in the yesterday’s pursuit has been placed on Administrative Duty - which is not discipline - due to an ongoing administrative review of her recent pursuit that involved a crash and minor injuries to some of the occupants. This is coupled with an unrelated incident that has resulted in ongoing investigations by the Internal Affairs and Public Integrity Units.”
DSABC's news release states that the deputy was booking the suspect when she was notified that she was being placed on administrative duty because of the chase.
“Sidelining a deputy for doing her job, following Sheriff’s policy and protecting this community, sends a conflicting message to deputies: when you do your job, you’ll be penalized,” said DSABC president Jeremy Payne. “It’s sad that this Sheriff would punish, rather than praise, his own deputies for successfully taking a car thief off the streets and returning stolen property to the rightful owner.”
The union alleged that the supervisor who authorized the chase is being threatened with similar punishment.
The sheriff's office previously came under fire for its pursuit policy in October 2019 when a San Antonio police officer who was directing traffic following a BCSO chase was injured.
In that incident, authorities pursued the suspect southbound along I-35 N near Windcrest before crashing into a guard rail. That's when the suspect took off running, with BCSO deputies in pursuit.
A San Antonio Police officer who was working traffic following the crash was struck by another driver.
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus expressed his anger and frustration shortly after the incident, during which crew members from the television show COPS rode along with BCSO deputies. When asked if TV crew affected the sheriff's department's decision to engage in the pursuit, McManus answered in the affirmative.
"Let me be very direct in my answer. The answer is yes, I do."
In response to Chief McManus's press conference, Sheriff Salazar issued the following statement:
“The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office pursuit policy was made more restrictive when I took office in 2017 with feedback from the Sheriff’s and Citizen’s Organized for Public Engagement Committee (S.C.O.P.E.). As a result, last night’s pursuit ended with the apprehension of two dangerous felons. If there is any blame to assign in these incidents, it is on the two dangerous felons that fled from deputies and on the inattentive driver who struck the SAPD Police Officer an hour after the felony pursuit and crash.”
And after, Salazar issued a directive stating his agency wouldn't help in certain pursuits.
"Effective immediately, any outside agencies requesting Bexar County Sheriff's Office assistance in initiating or continuing a pursuit that, by their own policy, the outside agency's officers are not allowed to engage in, will be declined," the memo from Salazar stated. The agency later clarified deputies "will still assist outside agencies in pursuits that are permitted by their own policies."