SAN ANTONIO – A thread posted last year on the Facebook page of a Bexar County Sheriff's Office corporal shows several current and former members of the agency joking about past hazing incidents.
The post surfaced Monday, hours after Sheriff Javier Salazar placed seven members of his SERT team on administrative leave, pending the outcome of an internal investigation into possible hazing at the home of one of the officers Friday.
Salazar, describing video shown to him and his command staff, said six deputies used BCSO-issued handcuffs and shackles to restrain a seventh deputy, then pretended to use a stun gun on him.
A 4-year-old girl is seen in the video participating in the incident, according to Salazar.
RELATED: BCSO names deputies accused in hazing investigation
"They will never, ever wear another SERT uniform again, not for this agency. I can tell you that definitely," Salazar said.
On top of administrative action, the officers face possible criminal charges of hazing, unlawful restraint and child endangerment.
One of the officers on leave for his involvement in Friday's incident, Corporal Ryan Ferrell, posted on Facebook on December 22 about a SERT going-away party.
In the thread that followed a fellow deputy said he remembered "mofos getting concussions at their parties. Or bloody," then later wrote that "I remember someone getting ajaxed or tamponed."
BCSO confirmed Tuesday that at least six people who commented or were tagged in the post are current or former members of the agency's Special Emergency Response Team, or SERT, an elite, hand-picked unit that responds to escalated situations within the jail.
"I don't know if this is a longstanding tradition, but I can tell you it stops now. We're not going to continue this," Salazar said after reviewing a copy of the Facebook thread.
THE INITIAL REPORT: At least 6 BCSO deputies accused of hazing fellow deputy during party
Ferrell did not respond to a request for comment left at his last known address Tuesday.
Salazar also confirmed Tuesday that several of the officers on leave for Friday's incident were involved in a fight in June outside a far West Side home.
The fight remains under investigation by BCSO and could also result in criminal charges and administrative action against the personnel involved.
Salazar said that incident appeared to be an assault as opposed to hazing.
"There is only one way to progress an agency like this into the next century and behavior like this has no place," Salazar said.
--------------------------------------------------------
Don't miss a thing. Get email alerts from KSAT 12 today.
Get alerted to news events as they happen or sign up for a scheduled news headline email that is delivered right to your inbox. Breaking news, severe weather, daily forecasts, entertainment news, all of the day’s important events to keep you up to date wherever you are.
Sign up today. It's Free.