SAN ANTONIO – City records obtained by the KSAT 12 Defenders confirm that a transportation employee who drove city vehicles was fired this summer after he tested positive for opiates and codeine during a random drug screening.
Transportation and Capital Improvements employee Alfredo Sanchez was terminated Aug. 15, weeks after testing positive for the substances.
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City officials have not said whether they have determined if Sanchez drove city vehicles while under the influence of opiates or codeine.
TCI director Mike Frisbie, through a department spokesman, declined a request to be interviewed for this story.
TCI spokesman Paul Berry released the following statement Monday:
The safety of our citizens and our employees is of the utmost importance, which is why our policy on Alcohol and Controlled Substances Testing was established more than 20 years ago and most recently updated in June of 2017. As a primary driver for the City, Mr. Sanchez’s role required him to drive almost on a daily basis. As all City drivers are, he was subject to and selected for a random drug screening. As a result of his positive screening and our zero-tolerance policy, Mr. Sanchez’s employment with the City was terminated. Because we want to ensure that our drivers are as safe as possible, we have applied some of the procedures and guidelines outlined by the Department of Transportation for our Commercial Driver’s License drivers to our primary drivers.
Sanchez worked as a traffic signs and pavement markings technician since being hired in 2017, according to city records.