SAN ANTONIO – When an off-duty Bexar County deputy was stopped and eventually arrested for a charge of driving while intoxicated, she was not alone. Her passenger, a fellow deputy, was suspended for five days without pay for trying to interfere with the arrest.
Deputy Aida Santos was disciplined for the April 14, 2017, incident. Suspension records obtained by KSAT-12 said she was in the car driven by Deputy Sabrina Moreno when it was stopped by a San Antonio police officer near Interstate 10 and UTSA Boulevard. The officer made an introduction and waited for a reply from Moreno, the document said.
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"In an attempt to dissuade the questioning towards Moreno, you (Santos) interjected and stated the reason she was swerving was because you were 'all over' her," the document said.
As the officer continued the traffic stop, the document said Santos again interrupted, leaving the officer to "advise (Santos) to stop talking so Moreno could speak."
Santos initially received a 10-day suspension, but after a hearing in December, the penalty was reduced to five days.
After her arrest, the Bexar County Sheriff's Office said Moreno had been with the department for eight months. Moreno told KSAT-12 she no longer worked for BCSO. A spokesperson for the department confirmed Moreno, who had been on probation at the time of her arrest, was "probationary-terminated."
Court records show Moreno received deferred adjudication for a charge of obstructing a highway-intoxication.
Santos is one of five public safety officers suspended in April 2018. The others include:
- Detention Deputy Sebastian Pennywell, six-day suspension without pay. Pennywell was disciplined for using an electronic panel to release inmates for recreation hours instead of using a key.
- Deputy Albert Perez, one-day suspension without pay. Perez was disciplined for an on-duty traffic accident. Records show on July 2, 2015, he looked down at his computer to read a call, saw the vehicle in front of him was turning, tried to brake to avoid a crash, but hit the left rear of the other vehicle.
- Officer Michael Mandujano, three-day suspension without pay. Mandujano was disciplined for hitting a car while driving a city-owned vehicle.
- Officer Jason Reno, one-day suspension without pay. Reno was disciplined for a February 15, 2018, traffic stop in which, police said, he failed to generate a calls for service report, failed to document racial profiling information for the stop and failed to arrest the driver for having three outstanding municipal court warrants.
- Officer Jay Stultz, one-day suspension without pay. Stultz was suspended for hitting a concrete curb island on Jan. 6, 2018, while on duty in a city-owned vehicle.