Bexar Deputy Forced Women to Expose Their Bodies
Back in the News
It seems we had a bit of a break from our local law enforcement officers getting arrested but that break is over. Deputy Floyd Berry, a Bexar County patrol officer, was arrested on Sunday. The 49-year old deputy has been with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office since 2001. He transferred to patrol in 2015.
Taking Advantage of Vulnerable People
The women Deputy Berry targeted were women who had credibility issues making them vulnerable to abuse and blackmail. Every law enforcement officers knows that and probably most of the general public realizes it too. The women Berry targeted had drug habits or other criminal histories that would cast doubt on their accusations. Fortunately some of those women refused to be a silent victim. They were able to give times and locations which allowed law enforcement to get the video from the gas station where several of the traffic stops occurred.
Law enforcement was able to see Deputy Berry taking the women away from the gas station area, leaving the male suspects in the car, unattended. That had to be a major red flag for them. There is no protocol that ever says to do something like that. Berry would drive the women to an isolated location where he would tell them to take their clothes off so he could search them. Or to pull up their shirt and bra, exposing their nipples, and tell them to “shake”. For more information, read the KSAT article and watch the video here.
Only a Class A Misdemeanor
The women Berry targeted had already had dealings with law enforcement and didn’t want to make matters worse by not complying. We all know how frequently resisting arrest charges are filed. Deputy Berry was arrested and charged with three counts of Official Oppression but here’s the problem. Official Oppression is only a Class A Misdemeanor. These women were not free to just walk away and while in that controlled state they were forced to expose their bodies to a man for his pleasure. Maybe it’s time for the Texas legislature to take another look at Official Oppression and move it up to at least a State jail Felony.
Another Black Eye for the Sheriff’s Office
It seems that the Bexar County Jail just can’t stay out of the news. Other sheriffs have had their problems but none have been as bad as what we are seeing under the Salazar administration. We doubt it will be long before we are once again embarrassed by the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.