Deputy on leave, accused of tormenting ex despite previous discipline

Road-rage incident with ex's boyfriend sparks second IA investigation

SAN ANTONIO – A Bexar County Sheriff's Office deputy has been placed on administrative leave and issued a no contact order after a second formal complaint that claims he repeatedly harassed his former wife.

Deputy Pedro Rodriguez's personnel file, San Antonio Police Department reports obtained by The Defenders and complaints filed by his former wife show that the deputy has been accused of harassing his ex more than a dozen times since he filed for divorce last year.

Rodriguez was placed on leave January 8, four days after the KSAT 12 Defenders contacted BCSO to comment on his actions.

An SAPD report filed by Tracy Casiano last January indicates that Rodriguez took her clothing and personal belongings after he had already moved out of the West Side home they were renting.

The report states that no charges were filed because Rodriguez's name was still on the lease, giving him legal access to the home.

Pictures provided by Casiano show that her belongings were returned three days later, stacked in trash bags near the front door.

Casiano said Rodriguez returned everything after he learned that neighbors saw him removing the items from the home.

According to the same report, on the same day as the clothing incident, Casiano reported that someone tampered with her vehicle.

"When I moved forward, the vehicle felt a little strange and then it shut off," said Casiano.

Pictures show that her car's throttle body intake hose was disconnected.

According to a formal complaint filed with BCSO Internal Affairs last April, Rodriguez was also accused of reporting that Casiano's debit card and her and their son's phones were stolen.

"I felt like he was doing everything he could to scare us to where we were basically in fear for our lives," said Casiano.

Rodriguez's personnel file indicates that in March he moved Casiano's vehicle in a county parking garage after a child custody hearing.

After Casiano contacted a court security deputy to report the vehicle stolen, the deputy was able to reach Rodriguez on the phone and after the two men argued, he found out where the vehicle was moved.

The car was later located on a different level of the parking garage, according to the file.

Rodriguez was given a letter of counseling in October for the incident.

The discipline record states that his behavior toward his fellow deputy was "unnecessary and inexcusable."

"Just because he has a badge doesn't mean that he should be able to push all the buttons he can and get away with it because it's not breaking the law," said Casiano.

On December 15, more than two months after Rodriguez received the letter of counseling, SAPD received a call for a "rolling disturbance" near Highway 151 and W. Military Drive.

Casiano's boyfriend called police and said Rodriguez had followed him after the man had picked up his own daughter at SAPD's West Substation, the report states.

Rodriguez was accused of tailgating them, flashing his lights at them and pulling up beside them in an attempt to run them off the road, according to the report.

Rodriguez told officers who responded to the scene that he followed the boyfriend "to talk to him man to man" and ask why Casiano had not been bringing their son for visitation drop-offs, the report states.

Rodriguez added that he wanted to "pass a message to his ex," according to the report.

Neither car was damaged during the incident and no charges were filed since SAPD was unable to find any evidence that a vehicle was run off a road, the report states.

Rodriguez's sergeant was called to the scene, SAPD records confirm.

Personnel records indicate Rodriguez has worked for BCSO since 2013.

A BCSO spokesman said Sheriff Javier Salazar was unavailable for an interview since the incidents are part of an ongoing investigation.

However, in a Facebook message sent to Casiano last summer, Salazar wrote that "bad behavior and protection by other officers won't be tolerated."

Casiano said until this month, she had been unable to get a restraining order or no contact order against Rodriguez because the repeated incidents were not violent in nature.

District clerk records show Rodriguez and Casiano's divorce was finalized in September after 14 years of marriage.

 


About the Author:

Emmy-award winning reporter Dillon Collier joined KSAT Investigates in September 2016. Dillon's investigative stories air weeknights on the Nightbeat and on the Six O'Clock News. Dillon is a two-time Houston Press Club Journalist of the Year and a Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Reporter of the Year.