Neighbor: SA man knocked on her door before beating police officer in front of her house

Alexander Garza accused of breaking into home, badly injuring responding officer

SAN ANTONIO – A neighbor provided a new detailed account of Tuesday morning's chain of events that landed an SAPD officer in the hospital, a father in jail and a 9-year-old in the state's care.

Police arrested Alexander Garza Tuesday afternoon after they say he broke into a home, frightened neighbors and beat up a police officer, all with his 9-year-old daughter alongside him.

They charged Garza with aggravated assault on a peace officer and criminal trespass.

However, before police took him down, Giovanna Rojas and her family heard a knock on their door.

"My sister saw him because she was in the living room and her 3-year-old son actually got up and opened the door for him, so my sister ran to the door shut it and locked it. She was speaking to him through the screen door and he was asking for someone named Jill," Rojas said.

Little did they know, Garza had allegedly just broken into a home down the street.

"He's just like, 'Show me your face,' and at that point it's when the cop came and started tasing him and they started fighting. He got up and started attacking the cop and started punching her. I think at one point he flipped her and that's when she ended up on my sister's car," Rojas said.

Still, she says the officer didn't give up.

"She was fighting back and she was able to chase him two houses down, and then after a while she just collapsed," Rojas said.

Neighbor Ruben Gonzalez also witnessed that, saying, "I saw this lady cop get up off the floor trying to chase him down and she staggered and she fell again. The cops showed up real quick. Her partners showed up real quick."

After that scuffle a video captured by a neighbor's doorbell camera showed Garza and his 9-year-old daughter casually walking up to another house. That's when those backup officers ran in and pinned him down.

"I heard a little girl yelling. Then she started screaming a little louder," Gonzalez said.

It was a terrifying ordeal for Garza's daughter, who police say is now in CPS custody.

The whole thing was also frightening for neighbors.

"It's like do we even want to let the kids go out anymore because apparently he lived down the street," Rojas said.

Police confirmed they believe Garza lives in that neighborhood and may be connected to other recent crimes.

Roja ended up being the one to call an ambulance for the injured officer, who suffered a concussion and facial fractures.

Police say that officer has been on the force for nearly two decades.

 


About the Authors:

Courtney Friedman anchors KSAT’s weekend evening shows and reports during the week. Her ongoing Loving in Fear series confronts Bexar County’s domestic violence epidemic. She joined KSAT in 2014 and is proud to call the SA and South Texas community home. She came to San Antonio from KYTX CBS 19 in Tyler, where she also anchored & reported.