Officer Who Kneeled on Man’s Neck, Fired

San Antonio Police Department

A San Antonio police officer was fired over an incident that happened on November 26, 2019. The officer is accused of using excessive force. This was before the killing of George Floyd but thankfully, do to the heightened awareness of what police officers are doing, the San Antonio Police Department took a firmer stance on how they are responding to excessive force by their officers.

Officer Michael Brewer took a man into custody who “appeared to provide no resistance.” Regardless of the fact that he was not resisting, Officer Brewer chose to kneel on the individual’s neck while the individual was handcuffed and lying on the ground. When the man was brought to his feet he was pulled up by his arms while his hands were handcuffed behind his back. This can cause a lot of pressure and pain on an individual’s shoulders. The further from the shoulder that you grab the arm, the more pressure you put on the shoulder socket when you lift the person. Officers know this.

Brewer wasn’t the only officer involved. Officer Andre Vargas was also fired for excessive force. Officer Vargas used his tazer at a point that did not justify that level of force. The individual who was arrested filed a complaint with the San Antonio Police Department that resulted in the termination of these two officers.

Will the Officers Stay Fired?

The problem is, it’s unlikely that the officers will remain in terminated status. The San Antonio Police Officers Association (SAPOA) fights very hard to keep their members from facing any consequences of their violent and/or illegal actions. They, along with mediators who seem too afraid to terminate an officer, will probably get these two individuals back on the job.

Bexar County Sheriff’s Office

20-year old Javier Cruz, a probationary deputy with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, has been arrested for Tampering with Government Records. Deputy Cruz was obviously not prepared for what the job entailed. He had already been having an attendance problem when he was put out on medical leave and was required to get a doctor’s note to return to work. The doctor did give him a note stating that he could return on August 7 but Cruz altered the note to read August 27. The forgery was caught and Sheriff Salazar chose to have Cruz arrested stating, “We could have just fired him and kicked the can down the road, but we’re not going to do that.”

I’m not even sure what that is supposed to mean. Was he worried that Cruz could go to some other agency? They do background checks. One call to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office would solve that problem. I believe they can even note him as not being in good standing with Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE), which would tell everyone not to hire him, though I’m not 100% sure on this. Pretty sure, but not 100%. Or does he think he is stopping some major criminal in his tracks? What I see is some dumb kid who made a really stupid mistake and was caught. However, that mistake did not hurt anyone. No one bled. No one died. He was caught and terminated.

Salazar’s Hypocrisy

So tell me again what happened to the officers who put two deadly rivals in the same cell resulting in one beating the other to death? Tell me what happened to the officers who did a similar thing about a month after the first incident. Tell me what happened to the supervisor who ordered the K-9 officer to send his dog at a man who was already firing his gun at various things. Anyone with even a smidgen of common sense would know that the man was going to shoot the dog. And they weren’t even in close proximity to the shooter. The poor dog was sent out after a man a significant distance away giving that man time to take the shot. Having a massive funeral for the dog doesn’t change the fact that it was a poor call by the supervisor that caused the dog’s death. And tell me what happened to the officers who shot at a suspect who was standing in front of a mobile home, without a care in the world for who may have been in that mobile home, resulting in the death of a 6-year old child.

I can tell you that not a single one of these officers was fired. Not one. But yeah, let’s celebrate the arrest of a man who is not even old enought to drink, who wrote a “2” in front of a “7”. That’s a real hardcore criminal you caught there, Salazar.

Tags: excessive force, San Antonio Police Department, San Antonio Police Officers Association, tampering with government records, Texas Commission on Law Enforcement