SAN ANTONIO – Two San Antonio police officers have been suspended after investigators said they used excessive force on suspects in separate incidents earlier this year, discipline records obtained by KSAT Investigates show.
Officer Jordan Helire was handed a 30-day suspension in late June for violating rules, including treatment of prisoners and failing to notify a supervisor of a use-of-force incident, records show.
Helire was dispatched to the 5900 block of Sail Loft Circle on March 6 for an assault in progress call.
A man told Helire at the scene that his ex-girlfriend, Lydia Arriaga Martinez, had come into the home unannounced, looking for her Apple AirPods, according to an SAPD incident report.
Surveillance camera footage captured at the home showed Martinez turning off a Wi-Fi router in an attempt to cut power to the cameras, the report states.
Martinez was then seen on camera assaulting the man and told police that the man was holding a knife and threatening her.
The footage showed the man was holding only a phone, according to the report.
Martinez was taken into custody, handcuffed and placed in the back of an SAPD patrol vehicle, records show.
While in the backseat of the vehicle, Martinez began banging her head on the window, according to the incident report.
Helire then pulled a handcuffed Martinez out of the vehicle, “causing her to fall to the ground in an uncontrolled manner,” suspension records show.
Paramedics treated Martinez at the scene for an injured right arm after she complained about being in pain and was cleared to be taken to jail, records show.
Martinez again complained of being in pain while en route to be booked, leading Helire to pull over and again ask for medical assistance.
Paramedics determined that Martinez should be taken to the hospital for further treatment, according to the incident report.
Martinez was booked into jail two days later, according to Bexar County jail records.
Martinez is seen in her booking photo wearing a sling on her right arm.
Helire, a two-year veteran of SAPD, also failed to notify a supervisor of the type of force used and that a person in his custody had been injured, discipline records show.
He completed his suspension Aug. 16, records show.
“Shut up b****.....shut the f*** up.”
SAPD Bike Patrol Officer Eloy Cuellar was given a 15-day suspension after investigators said he used excessive force in a separate incident downtown on March 1.
Cuellar was seen on body-worn camera footage punching a public intoxication suspect six times in the face while the man resisted arrest in the 800 block of N. Alamo St., discipline records show.
Cuellar was heard on camera telling the suspect, “Shut up b****.....shut the f*** up.”
After the suspect was put in handcuffs, Cuellar was heard telling him, “Nobody told you to turn around b****,” suspension records show.
The suspect was taken to the city magistrate office, at which point a patrol vehicle was requested to take him to the hospital to be treated for his injuries.
The delay in treatment lasted an hour and 28 minutes, suspension records show.
Investigators determined Cuellar used unnecessary force during the incident and also failed to provide immediate medical treatment to the suspect, records show.
Cuellar, a seven-year veteran of SAPD, finished serving his suspension Sept. 7, records show.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.