SAN ANTONIO – A recently hired investigator with the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office resigned late last month after claiming District Attorney Joe Gonzales yelled at him in a public setting for not wearing a collared shirt.
Edward “Eddie” Gonzales resigned via email Oct. 26, telling a sergeant in the DA’s office that DA Gonzales had embarrassed and humiliated him in front of his coworkers the previous day.
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“In all my years as a supervisor I never once yelled at an officer, detective or civilian employee or reprimanded them in public,” wrote Edward Gonzales, who added he was sorry for bringing negative attention to the unit because of the collared shirt issue.
“I only have 2 polo shirts and 1 dress collar shirt and slacks. I donated all my old shirts, jackets and pants after retirement. I tried to get my uniforms and paid for them out of my own pocket. Even purchasing a third set Friday. I was not trying to violate our dress code. I didn’t even know I was going to be hired till Monday morning. As HR told me Friday the 18th everything is pending till the results of the drug test,” wrote Edward Gonzales.
DA Gonzales, in a written statement to KSAT, refuted the ex-investigator’s claims that he yelled at him.
“It is unfortunate that Mr. Gonzales decided to resign after less than a week in our office. However, statements contained within his resignation letter are patently false and I asked our Chief Administrative Attorney to conduct an independent review of my discussion with Mr. Gonzales with those few employees that may have overheard my comments. Results of that review were recently included along with the resignation letter to KSAT pursuant to your open records request,” wrote DA Gonzales.
The chief administrative attorney’s review determined that DA Gonzales spotted the investigator wearing workplace attire that did not comply with the agency’s dress code policy, records show.
It states DA Gonzales raised his voice to get the investigator’s attention and told him he would let the violation pass because the employee was new to the agency.
The review states the incident took place on the seventh floor of the Paul Elizondo Tower, an area not accessible to the public, and that the encounter was not seen by attorneys or non-employees.
Edward Gonzales worked for the San Antonio Police Department from April 1981 until October 2010, an SAPD spokesman confirmed Monday.
DA office assistant resigns, citing workplace “bullying and harassment”
Separately, an office assistant for the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office resigned late last month, citing “ongoing bullying and harassment I have faced.”
“The relentless bullying has had a severe impact on my mental health and has made it increasingly difficult for me to remain motivated and committed to my job,” Desiree Fraire wrote Oct. 24.
Fraire noted in her resignation email that the county’s switch to the Odyssey case management system this summer caused many obstacles in her position of working on misdemeanor intake cases.
Fraire wrote that she and another employee were unfairly accused of putting the agency “in this hole.”
KSAT reported Friday that the DA’s office currently has a backlog of 16,700 unindicted felony cases, nearly a year after receiving additional funding from county commissioners.
Fraire had worked for the DA’s office since 2022, county HR records show.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.