SAN ANTONIO – A veteran San Antonio police officer was suspended 76 days and signed a last-chance agreement to stay with the department after multiple rules violations including telling an SAPD intern that he repeatedly had sex on duty with the victim of a domestic violence call he previously responded to, city records show.
Officer Javier Galvan was given a contemplated indefinite suspension in late November, after SAPD’s internal affairs unit became aware of several concerns about Galvan raised by a person attending the police academy.
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The complainant, described in suspension paperwork as a former SAPD intern, told academy staff in late July that a ride-along he had taken with Galvan months earlier had left him “uncomfortable.”
During the February 2023 ride-along, Galvan told the intern he had repeatedly had sex on duty with a woman who was the victim in a previous domestic violence call he handled, suspension records show.
The woman, who is not named in suspension records, contacted Galvan off-duty to try to initiate a personal sexual relationship, the paperwork states.
Galvan told the intern he would only be given written counseling if the activity was discovered by SAPD, according to the paperwork.
During the same ride-along, Galvan parked his vehicle and told the intern to be quiet so he could take a nap, the paperwork states.
A subsequent review of Galvan’s calls for service revealed he had failed to respond to a call as a cover officer that night.
In body-worn camera footage, Galvan can be heard telling an officer, “My bad bro, I nodded the f--- out” and that he did not know he had a call.
Body-worn camera footage recorded during the same ride-along included audio of Galvan telling the intern, “Wait till you meet the brass that are f---ing walking posters for toxic masculinity.”
During the same ride-along, Galvan told the intern he would end the ride early because he wanted some time to himself at the end of his shift to relax, the paperwork states.
After SAPD determined Galvan had repeatedly failed to turn on his body-worn camera the night in question, officials conducted an audit of his use of the camera over a 30-day period.
From June 27 to July 25, Galvan failed to turn on his body-worn camera at 60 different calls for service, the paperwork states.
After Galvan failed to respond to a call for a traffic stop in late June, another SAPD officer attempted to look for Galvan and stated he saw Galvan in his patrol car in an empty parking lot. The officer said that Galvan had his eyes closed and appeared to be asleep.
Galvan was cited for rules violations including failure to use body-worn cameras, attentiveness to duties, criticisms of the department and responsibility to serve the public.
Galvan’s contemplated indefinite suspension was shortened to 76 days last month as part of an arrangement that required the officer to sign a last-chance agreement.
Galvan, whose suspension runs through April 7, must complete any training classes assigned by the chief, the agreement states.
The chief may order Galvan to take part in counseling or mentoring and the officer must avoid sustained rule violations over the next two years, the agreement states.
Galvan’s union attorney did not respond to a phone call seeking comment Wednesday.
Galvan is a nine-year veteran of SAPD.
Officer conducted personal business while on duty
A second SAPD officer was suspended 45 days last month and required to sign a last-chance agreement after an internal affairs investigation determined he conducted personal business while on duty.
During a ride-along in late July, Officer Jacob Ryan returned to the central substation to rent a trailer, suspension paperwork states.
A subsequent review of Ryan’s calls for service shows that during five days in July, the officer delayed returning to service twice and delayed responding to calls five times.
Ryan was “allegedly eating while assigned to a call” during one of the delayed returns to service, records show.
Ryan repeatedly delayed activating his in-car camera and failed to turn on his body-worn camera nine times during the same five-day period in July, records show.
Ryan, a three-year veteran of SAPD, is suspended through March 12.
He must submit to any additional training courses or counseling assigned by the chief and must avoid sustained rules violations over the next two years, as part of his last-chance agreement.
Ryan had been issued a contemplated indefinite suspension in December, records show.
Officer suspended again for going home while on duty
For the second time in three months, SAPD Officer Mark Walaski was suspended for going to his personal residence while on duty.
Walaski, a 28-year veteran of SAPD, was suspended 15 days after racking up several violations during a single call in September, records show.
During a theft investigation in the 900 block of W. Huisache, Walaski misidentified himself as another officer while a man recorded him on a cell phone.
Department policy requires officers to give their correct name and badge number.
A subsequent internal affairs investigation of the incident revealed that Walaski failed to record the call on COBAN video and had turned off his body-worn camera for more than two and a half minutes, without providing an explanation why, records show.
Walaski was suspended 30 days in October after a separate internal affairs investigation determined he went shopping while on duty and visited his home three separate times while assigned to calls for service.
Following a complaint to internal affairs, investigators determined that Walaski entered an AutoZone in his assigned service area on Aug. 2 and purchased two items for his personal vehicle, records show.
Walaski was in full police uniform and operating an SAPD patrol vehicle, records show.
SAPD last year conducted an audit of Walaski’s activities covering 30 days and determined he had also visited his home on three separate occasions while assigned to calls for service.
The incidents were captured on Walaski’s body-worn camera and showed him checking on his personal vehicles and handling personal business, discipline records show.
The department handed Walaski an indefinite suspension in July 2017 after a separate internal affairs investigation concluded that he had a relationship with a woman accused of being a prostitute.
Department records show the woman had an active warrant for prostitution in July 2016 when Walaski began dating her and allowed her to live with him.
That same year, Walaski paid a bond company to bail her out of jail on warrants for two separate prostitution charges, SAPD records previously showed.
In 2017, Walaski signed a lease and began paying for an apartment for the woman, records show.
Walaski appealed his indefinite suspension to a third-party arbitrator.
However, Walaski reached a negotiated settlement agreement and returned to work before going to arbitration, an SAPD spokesman confirms.
Walaski returned to duty in March 2018, a city human resources official confirmed to KSAT.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.