SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio police officer was suspended without pay for 25 days after he harassed a woman while taking her report, according to documents obtained by KSAT 12 News.
Officer Mathew Nowak was initially given a 30-day suspension, but the discipline was reduced after he appealed the decision, the suspension records showed.
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On Sept. 6, 2019, Nowak was tasked with taking the report of a woman who walked into the South Patrol substation to report a man. The woman’s complaint was not detailed in the suspension records.
As soon as the officer walked her into a small office at the station, the woman said Nowak told her, “I can tell you need a hug,” and hugged her without her permission.
As they continued the conversation, Nowak asked unusual questions, according to the suspension record. In one question, he asked her if the woman gave an erection to the man she was reporting.
While asking the woman about her ex-husband’s infidelity, Nowak commented on the woman’s breasts and backside, according to the suspension document.
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“Officer’s Nowak’s actions did not conform to the ordinary and reasonable rules of good conduct and behavior and/or brought reproach and discredit on himself and the department,” officials wrote in his suspension order.
Nowak was one of nine officers suspended in February, San Antonio police records showed:
- Officer Matthew Miller was suspended for five days after striking a vehicle with his patrol car in the 5100 block of Sagamore Drive.
- Officer Thomas Villarreal was suspended for one day after failing to stop at several stop signs while attempting to pull over a driver on a traffic stop.
- Officer Taylor Sanchez was suspended for one day after failing to arrest a driver with an invalid driver’s license or issuing a cite and release. Instead, the officer issued a no operator’s license citation, violating the department’s procedure.
- Officer Cheyenne Perez was suspended for five days after striking a vehicle with a patrol car in the 5300 block of IH-35.
- Officer David Below was suspended for one day after striking a a curb with a patrol car at the intersection of N. Cherry Street and Booker Alley.
- Officer Abraham A. Trevino was suspended for one day after striking a light pole base with a patrol car in the 4600 block of Rittiman Road.
- Officer Miguel Saucedo was suspended for five days after colliding with two vehicles in the 6600 block of S. New Braunfels Avenue.
- Officer Cristian Valadez was suspended for one day after striking a pole with a patrol car in the 1900 block of S New Braunfels Avenue.