SAN ANTONIO – A man arrested is accused of putting a San Antonio police officer in a chokehold and hitting him multiple times in the head with a rock, according to an incident report obtained by KSAT.
Abel Joe Hernandez Jr., 34, was charged with aggravated assault against a public servant in connection with the Sept. 10 assault, Bexar County records show.
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SAPD officer Joshua Primiano was found bleeding “profusely” from his head and face while lying on the ground, police stated. He was later taken to a local hospital for treatment.
An SAPD spokesperson told KSAT that Primiano is currently on injured leave.
According to the incident report, a witness had called 911 to report that a man, later identified as Hernandez, was sitting in a chair in his backyard.
Primiano arrived on the scene and told Hernandez to leave the property. Police stated that Hernandez initially complied and left on foot.
While Primiano spoke with the witness and a woman at the front door of the home, the incident report states that Hernandez returned to the property and attacked Primiano.
The two men got into a “physical altercation” and eventually fell near a water fountain by the front door. SAPD said that Hernandez then put Primiano in a chokehold and hit him in the back of the head multiple times with a rock.
The witness ran to retrieve his cellphone and call 911. Officers arrived shortly after and took Hernandez into custody, the report states.
Hernandez was later transferred into the custody of detention staff at SAPD Magistrate, located in the 400 block of S. Frio Street.
Detention staff noticed Hernandez had thrown “a small clear baggy” with a “clear rock-like substance” into an adjacent cell on surveillance footage, the incident report said. The substance later tested positive for methamphetamine.
Hernandez was also charged with possession of a controlled substance, court records indicate.
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