SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Police Department has fired an officer for repeatedly creating phantom calls for service, city discipline records obtained by KSAT Investigates show.
Officer Andrew Guerrero was terminated July 17, a day before he was scheduled to return to duty from an unrelated suspension.
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Guerrero in late March created a call for service around 11:30 p.m. in the 100 block of Gilbert Lane, then turned off his body-worn camera and vehicle cameras, records show.
Guerrero remained on the call for seven minutes but did not make contact with anyone and did not take any police action.
After clearing the call, the officer immediately requested a 15-minute break, records show.
Guerrero then requested to go home early, but was told by a sergeant to instead check back in around an hour later since there was an insufficient number of officers in service for the overnight shift.
After ending his break just before midnight, Guerrero instead created a second call for service in the 5300 block of Blanco Road, and again turned off his body-worn camera and vehicle cameras, records show.
Guerrero remained on this call for over 22 minutes but did not make contact with anyone and did not take any police action.
The officer eventually cleared the call and asked for a 30-minute break, records show.
Questioned about his activity days later, Guerrero acknowledged to a sergeant that he created the calls for service to avoid being dispatched.
Guerrero’s discipline file does not indicate what he was doing while on the phantom calls for service.
While being questioned about his actions, Guerrero accused two supervisors of doing the same thing in the past.
Guerrero in that meeting was described as being argumentative and disrespectful, records show.
He was terminated for rules violations that included neglect of duty and conduct that was prejudicial to good order.
Guerrero’s termination comes months after he was suspended 45 days in May for cursing out a neighbor.
Cellphone footage captured by Guerrero’s neighbor showed Guerrero being loud, profane, and using vulgar language during a dispute that led to officers being called.
When police responded, the neighbor told an on-duty officer that Guerrero was an SAPD officer.
Body camera footage showed Guerrero declined to identify himself with his name and badge number to the on-duty officer.
Guerrero was initially given a contemplated indefinite suspension, which was later shortened to 45 days after he met with SAPD Chief William McManus.
Guerrero’s suspension for the off-duty disturbance was taken into account when determining his punishment for the phantom calls for service, discipline records confirm.
Guerrero was a five-year veteran of SAPD, city HR records confirm.