SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio police officer was suspended for six days after he mishandled a domestic violence call that involved a fellow detective.
Officer Grady Coleman, served the six-day suspension from Nov. 14 to Nov. 19, according to the suspension document.
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On May 16, Coleman was called to the San Antonio Men’s Club for a domestic violence call, where a security guard told him that Detective Gerard Morales assaulted a woman inside.
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Morales is named in the suspension document but was not criminally charged in connection with the incident, court records show.
Despite the assault allegation, Coleman still asked the woman to take the detective home.
Coleman only briefly interviewed both parties before taking handcuffs off Morales and allowing the woman to leave with him.
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Coleman also waived off his female cover officer, telling Morales “hold on, I don’t know if that officer knows you or not,” according to the suspension document.
“Officer Coleman knowingly took steps to minimize the incident in order to release Detective Morales," according to the report.
Coleman was also cited for failing to call a supervisor, being inattentive in his duties by not collecting evidence and turning off his body camera after releasing the detective but before the incident was over.
Coleman was previously suspended at least three times.
Roughly two weeks before the incident, on May 1, Coleman “became involved in a heated verbal altercation with a motorist.” Coleman failed to wear his body camera, resulting in a one-day suspension.
In April 2017, Coleman was suspended for one day after another altercation during a theft call. In that case, Coleman told a complainant “he hates dealing with people who don’t know the law.” The complainant replied, “no wonder people hate cops.” Coleman replied, “it’s no wonder we hate citizens."
In March 2017, Coleman faced an indefinite suspension for devoting multiple portions of his off-duty time to “personal activity.”
The suspension was reduced to 45 days, and Coleman signed an agreement stating an indefinite suspension would be levied against him if he violated the same policies within two years of the agreement.
Other notable suspensions in November:
Officer Christopher J. Sanchez was suspended for 15 days for causing nearly $3,000 of damage when he crashed his patrol car into an unattended city vehicle. Sanchez also “knowingly drove away from the scene of an accident without contacting the operator of the parked city vehicle.”
Officer Gabriel Sanchez was suspended for three days after taking part in a dangerous car chase on May 22. The unauthorized vehicle pursuit reached 92 mph, even after the hood of the suspect’s vehicle flew up, “which created an even greater potential safety hazard.” Sanchez only served one day of the suspension, and the other two days will be vacated if Sanchez goes a year without violating the same policies.
Officer William Karman received two separate five-day suspensions after he struck railroad crossing arms. One suspension was for the crash, while the other was for Karman failing to report the crash until he was questioned about it. Karman also admitted to trying to repair the vehicle himself. Karman will receive up to four days’ payback if he does not commit a "chargeable traffic accident’ in the year following June 6, 2019.
Officer Jerry Miller was suspended for three days after he disposed of narcotics he found while investigating a burglary instead of taking possession of it.
Officer Richard Gutierrez was suspended for one day after he jumped a curb, striking a sign and a vehicle, on June 24.