Jailer Arrested After Possibly Blinding Prisoner
Jailer Punched Inmate in the Eye with Handcuffs
(TX) – Eduardo Sanchez, a detention officer at the Bexar County jail, has been arrested for aggravated assault. The incident occurred in May of last year. A prisoner, Hector Lopez, was supposedly being disruptive. Deputies went to control Lopez. “During the struggle, (Sheriff) Salazar said Sanchez punched Lopez with a pair of handcuffs, causing a serious injury to one of Lopez’s eyes.”
The aggravated assault charge is from Sanchez using a pair of handcuffs like brass knuckles and punching the inmate in the eye with them. The damage was so severe that there is still a question as to whether Mr. Lopez will have vision in that eye.
What is Sheriff Salazar Talking About?
I try to keep my personal knowledge out my posts and only go with what is published by news sites, but this one is driving me crazy. According to ExpressNews.com,
“The altercation caused a serious injury to Lopez’s eye, Sheriff Javier Salazar said Tuesday evening at a news conference. It came to light during a check of officer body camera footage, he said.”
Why is Salazar saying it came to light during a check of body cam footage? Mr. Lopez had to be to be rushed to the hospital. Serious measures were taken at the hospital to try to save the eye. Nothing ‘came to light’ after a body cam check. They intentionally checked the body cam footage to see what had happened.
Plenty of Tolerance from No Tolerance Sheriff
Salazar constantly claims he makes the “tough calls” and will not have tolerance for officers who violate their duties. Many other officers who were being investigated were placed on administrative leave. Why didn’t Salazar do the same to Deputy Eduardo Sanchez?
According to KSAT 12, Salazar said about Sanchez that, “He was still working, albeit under close supervision.” The jail is still critically understaffed, yet they could spare someone to supervise Sanchez while he worked? Why did a man that they indicated used handcuffs like brass knuckles, get special treatment?
Grand Jury Indicts Deputy
A grand jury indicted 24-year old Deputy Eduardo Sanchez. He was “charged with official oppression and aggravated assault by a public servant.” Sanchez was arrested on Tuesday and has now been placed on administrative leave by Sheriff Salazar.
Two Jailers Arrested for Domestic Violence
In a different incident, Deputy Alan Lira Leos was arrested on Thursday for domestic violence after it was alleged that he choked a family member. 30-year old Leos “has been charged with assault family violence causing choking or strangulation, the sheriff’s office said.” Deputy Leos was hired in February. Probationary officers do not have protection. He was immediately terminated. Leos makes the ninth Bexar County deputy to have been arrested this year.
Deputy Eriq Sorola (some articles have his last name spelled Solora) was arrested on March 11 for assault. No details were given but according to News4SanAntonio.com the official charge is “Assault Bodily Injury to Family.” Deputy Sorola worked as a jailer and had been with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office since 2017.
When I was just there in booking in March the sergeant in the booking area was telling the other officers to type up their statements and to let her review them before they submitted them to be sure all the officers had the same story about how it took 5 C.Os to use aggressive force on 1 homeless kid who was shackled, who was clearly mentally disabled. They have been getting away w alot.
Nikki – Reports have to meet certain criteria. The supervisors review them to make sure everything is done right before signing off on them. If something is missing or wrong, the officer has to correct the report. There can be all kinds of issues such as not checking the box that lists the event as a use of force one. Or the officer doesn’t give enough detail about their actions. The reports are reviewed several more times even after they have been submitted because even the supervisors make mistakes. It may seem that she was trying to make sure they all said the same thing, and that’s not impossible, but odds are high she was just doing the review process. Just an FYI, the booking area is in the new building. The cameras there are excellent. They give a really sharp picture. It’s pretty hard to get away with anything in that area, not that some officers don’t try, but the cameras don’t lie.
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