SAN ANTONIO – A former San Antonio police lieutenant awaiting trial for felony tampering has received a third indefinite suspension from the department, discipline records obtained by KSAT Investigates show.
Steven Velasquez, 55, was handed the latest indefinite suspension in late January, months after he was indicted.
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Velasquez was terminated in late 2023 after an internal affairs investigation determined he left his assigned shift early on the night Melissa Perez was shot and killed by officers.
Despite being the highest-ranking member assigned to SAPD’s south patrol service, Velasquez failed to respond to the fatal police shooting scene, discipline paperwork previously released by SAPD states.
The internal probe revealed Velasquez left work more than four hours before his shift was scheduled to end.
Velasquez received a second indefinite suspension in May 2024, after investigators claimed he altered discipline files tied to the Perez shooting.
Velasquez was forwarded an administrative review report instructing him to issue a chief of police disciplinary decision to an officer under the lieutenant’s command, records show.
The following day, Velasquez accessed the entry and “made unauthorized alterations and modifications” to it, discipline records state.
The modifications included Velasquez removing his name and the name of another supervisor from the entry altogether, according to records.
The removal of their names deleted any record of their involvement in the internal affairs case, records state.
Velasquez was then indicted in August on a state jail felony charge of tampering with a government record, defraud/harm.
The third indefinite suspension of Velasquez was handed down due to the criminal indictment.
Velasquez’s attorney, Ben Sifuentes, told KSAT Thursday the indictment is flawed for a number of reasons.
Sifuentes pointed out that Velasquez was not listed as an involved officer on the initial internal complaint form and that he was authorized to make changes in the computer program in question.
Sifuentes also said his client should not have been criminally charged because there was no intent to defraud or harm anyone.
Velasquez’s trial has been tentatively scheduled for March 18, but Sifuentes said Thursday the case will likely be pushed back.
Two former SAPD officers and a former SAPD sergeant charged in Perez’s death were found not guilty following a monthlong trial last fall.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.
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