SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio Police officer was indefinitely suspended in January, the department's equivalent of dismissal, after she repeatedly punched a woman who was six months pregnant and pulled her out of a patrol vehicle by her hair, disciplinary documents state.
Elizabeth Montoya was notified of her dismissal on Jan. 16, and was also issued a 10-day suspension that same day stemming from an incident in August in which she threatened to deploy her stun gun on a homeless person while telling them to pick up their trash.
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The indefinite suspension was prompted by an incident that occurred July 5, 2018.
According to disciplinary documents, Montoya was called to a home in the 1200 block of San Luis Street around 4 a.m. for a disturbance and arrested Kimberly Esparza, who police said was six months pregnant.
Suspension documents state that Esparza kicked Montoya as Montoya searched her, leading Montoya to finish the search with Esparza on the ground.
According to disciplinary paperwork, Montoya said when she put Esparza in the back of the patrol vehicle, Esparza kicked her again. That's when Montoya hit Esparza once in the right breast, then struck Esparza seven times on the head, suspension paperwork states.
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After repeatedly punching Esparza, Montoya then pulled Esparza from the patrol vehicle by the hair and had Esparza sit in the rain for nearly a half-hour, records state.
The department wrote in Montoya's dismissal documents that she subject Esparza to "unnecessary physical violence," and treated Esparza inhumanely.
Esparza was charged with assaulting a public servant and resisting arrest, but the charges were later dismissed, according to court records.
Montoya was also cited for a separate incident that occurred August 20, 2018, in which Montoya told a transient, "Pick up all your f-----g trash ... I don't want to f------g hear it ... I'll f-----g hear it ... I'll f-----g taze you," suspension documents state.
The exchange with the homeless individual occurred as Montoya cleared transients from the parking lot of a convenience store in the 300 block of North Zarzamora Street, disciplinary records show.
She was suspended for 10 days in that incident, but the indefinite suspension superseded the disciplinary action.
Montoya, through an attorney from the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas, denied the accusations made against her and asked for a hearing.
The city of San Antonio asked the state attorney general to allow it to keep any internal affairs documents relating to Montoya's indefinite and 10-day suspensions confidential.
A request for comment from Montoya's attorney was not immediately returned at the time this article was originally published.