SAN ANTONIO – Newly released body camera footage shows the sons of former Bexar County Precinct 2 Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela fighting San Antonio police officers at the family’s Northwest Side auto dealership.
The videos, which were released after the criminal charges filed against Michael, Anthony and Carlos Barrientes Vela were resolved in court earlier this year, show tensions flaring before a physical altercation between the one-time constable’s sons and officers at the chaotic scene.
A medical emergency turns volatile
SAPD officers were dispatched at approximately 9:30 p.m. on April 29, 2024, to an auto dealership at 1252 Bandera Road after paramedics responding to a medical emergency requested assistance.
As paramedics treated a woman in a living unit at the back of the dealership, which is operated by Barrientes Vela’s husband, “bystanders that were there started to get violent,” an SAPD incident report shows.
Officers arriving at the property ran into the hallway of the living area and encountered what appeared on camera to be a tense family dispute, while paramedics treated the woman, who was was described as Michael Barrientes Vela’s girlfriend, in an adjoining room.
Michelle Barrientes Vela is shown repeatedly telling her son Michael, 24, to “cut it out” while he sits on a stairwell yelling.
Michael and his older brother Anthony, 28, then appeared to start arguing in the same crowded hallway.
“Give me a second to round them up. I will round them up out of here for you,” the former constable said before an officer told her he needed the family members to separate.
“The presence of your uniform is not going to make it any better. I’m telling you that right now,” Michelle Barrientes Vela told the officer. “They’ve gone through hell and back with law enforcement.”
While the woman in medical distress was wheeled out of the living unit on a stretcher crying, Michael Barrientes Vela consoled her and said he is going with her to the hospital.
An officer agreed that Michael is going to go with the woman.
Moments later, however, tensions escalated after a paramedic told Michael he cannot ride in the ambulance. The paramedic then asked Michael if he and the woman “took anything,” referring to “opiates.”
Anthony Barrientes Vela then stepped between officers. His brother, Michael, then told officers, “Do not touch me.”
The footage shows Michael moved toward the ambulance as two officers tackle him to the ground.
Carlos, who held a terrier-mix dog, and Anthony were also taken to the ground. The brothers and officers screamed expletives at one another, the footage shows.
An SAPD officer then shot Michael with a stun gun as he laid on the ground.
As Anthony continued to argue with an officer, his father told Anthony he was making things worse.
Three officers were injured during the melee, including SAPD officer Andrew Davis. Davis’ shoulder was dislocated, the footage shows.
“I think they were professional in that moment. I think, obviously, things escalated as we saw on video,” said Robert Almonte II, a former federal prosecutor who now handles criminal defense work.
Almonte II is not associated with the criminal case, but he reviewed the body camera footage that was released to KSAT.
“Clearly, you had multiple individuals not listening and following orders. Obviously, the scene was chaotic,” Almonte II said. “I think from the onset, when you look at what’s transpiring inside the house, it’s chaotic.”
The footage also shows Michelle Barrientes Vela arguing off and on with officers. One of the officers referred to her son Carlos, 31, as a “fat piece of s---.”
“He’s not a piece of s---. He’s my son, alright?” Michelle Barrientes Vela said in the video. “I used to wear the uniform, too.”
After an officer replied, “What happened?” Michelle Barrientes Vela said, “Have a little bit of respect, alright?”
The former constable then asked that a supervisor be sent to the scene.
After the family remarked that the ambulance had still not left for the hospital, an officer said it would have departed 10 minutes earlier had it not been for the brawl.
All three brothers were charged with felony assault on a peace officer, resisting arrest and interference with public duties.
SAPD also charged Anthony Barrientes Vela with unlawful carry of a weapon after a small handgun was found in his pocket.
Records show that charge, however, was rejected by a magistrate judge hours later.
Brothers avoid felony assault conviction
The brothers appeared in court last year as part of an unsuccessful effort to have Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales’ office removed from prosecuting their cases.
Attorneys for the trio argued that past comments made by Gonzales about Michelle Barrientes Vela were a violation of due process.
In late April, two years to the day since the brothers were arrested, Michael Barrientes Vela was convicted by a jury of resisting arrest but not for the more serious charge of assaulting a peace officer.
He was given 180 days in jail, which was suspended for a year, court records show.
A week later, in early May, Anthony and Carlos Barrientes Vela pleaded no contest to resisting arrest and were given deferred adjudication and six months of probation each.
“While both Anthony’s and Carlos Barrientes Vela’s cases presented unique challenges, we remained committed to following the facts and the law. Through the plea agreement, we were able to ensure accountability for the charge of resisting arrest search or transportation,” a Bexar County DA’s Office spokesperson told KSAT via email.
“The resisting arrest was probably readily apparent to any observer, and maybe, there was more of a question to the assault — not that it didn’t happen — but was it beyond a reasonable doubt?” Almonte II said.
The interference with public duties charge filed against each brother was previously dismissed in September 2024, court records show.
The listed criminal defense attorney for all three brothers did not respond to phone calls from KSAT seeking comment for this story.
KSAT Investigates on Tuesday morning spoke briefly with the former constable, who said she would address the incident later in the day.
Brothers claim in federal court that their civil rights were violated
A federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the brothers last September accuses SAPD officers of unlawfully entering the residence, using excessive force on the men and arresting them without a warrant or probable cause.
KSAT could find no record that any of the officers called to the scene were formally disciplined for the incident.
The brothers, who are representing themselves, also named SAPD, the San Antonio Fire Department and the City of San Antonio in the suit.
“It kind of reminds me of a kitchen sink lawsuit, meaning, ‘Let’s just throw anything and everything in there,’” Almonte II said.
He pointed out that federal cases are often difficult to navigate without an attorney because of courtroom nuances and procedural aspects that exist in federal courtrooms.
In this lawsuit, for example, the docket shows the brothers missed a deadline this spring to issue a response to a court filing.
Asked about the suit, a spokesperson for the San Antonio City’s Attorney’s Office told KSAT via email: “After paramedics were dispatched to this incident for a medical episode, the situation evolved to require a police response. The City believes there is no merit to the lawsuit and will vigorously defend its position in court.”
A family familiar with public office
Michelle Barrientes Vela served as Bexar County Precinct 2 Constable from January 2017 to October 2019.
She left office weeks after publicly announcing plans to run for Bexar County sheriff.
The announcement triggered the state’s “resign-to-run” law, which prevents certain elected officials from staying in office if they have publicly announced plans to seek a higher office.
Barrientes Vela was convicted in 2022 of felony tampering with records after investigators said she mishandled security fees collected at a West Side park and created handwritten cash logs related to the collection of those fees in an effort to impact the criminal investigation.
The convictions were reversed by an appeals court in 2024, and the ex-Precinct 2 constable was formally acquitted of all charges early last year after the state’s highest criminal appeals court declined to review the case.
Michelle Barrientes Vela then ran for the Texas House of Representatives District 125, but she lost in the Democratic runoff back in May.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.