SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio police detective fired in 2019 after being charged with family violence has lost his bid to be reinstated after an arbitrator this week said the evidence in the case supported the chief’s decision to terminate him.
Detective Daniel Pue argued during a public arbitration hearing in late August and early September that his one-time mistress, who is also his cousin, was out to ruin his law enforcement career when she showed up at his far West Side home in January 2019.
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Pue was arrested by Bexar County Sheriff’s Office deputies following the incident, after a neighbor told police he witnessed the detective beating the woman in his front yard.
Multiple BCSO deputies testified during last year’s hearing that the woman Pue was accused of repeatedly punching in his front yard had visible injuries to her face when they arrived at the home.
Crime scene photos displayed during the hearing showed the woman with blood dried on her chin and coming out of her swollen nose.
Attorneys for Pue, 37, attempted to paint the mistress as malicious, even though evidence showed she refused to cooperate with any criminal complaints against Pue.
During a Jan. 30, 2019 interview with SAPD Sgt. Michael Moore, the internal affairs investigator assigned to look into Pue’s possible rules violations, the mistress said she wanted various protective orders filed against Pue lifted.
“I’m worried about him, not about me,” the woman said during the taped interview.
She said she could not recall being punched by Pue and that her facial injuries were minor and came from Pue’s front door hitting her.
In a 911 call played during the hearing, one of Pue’s neighbors described Pue repeatedly hitting the woman with a combination of punches and back of the hand slaps in his front yard.
Pue was issued an indefinite suspension in July 2019 based on allegations that he broke rules regarding the truthfulness of members, responsibility to serve the public, use of intoxicants and waste or conversion of city equipment.
By the time he was fired, however, the family assault charge had been dismissed. The charge was tossed out by a special prosecutor in May 2019 after Pue completed an anger management class, according to court records and previous statements made by the special prosecutor.
In a 16-page award issued Monday, arbitrator Edward Valverde wrote that credible evidence presented during the hearing supported Chief William McManus’ decision to terminate Pue.
“As public servants, police officers are held to a higher standard of conduct. Rules of conduct apply to off-duty as well as on-duty behavior. In this multi-day proceeding, the Employer provided witness testimony, video evidence and substantial documentation demonstrating that due process was provided to the grievant,” Valverde wrote.
Pue, who worked for SAPD since 2006, has had his law enforcement commission held by the Grey Forest Police Department since May.
The chief of the small San Antonio suburb said via telephone this week Pue meets the qualifications to work for the agency and has done a good job for the department.
“We view it as a civil manner between him and the city,” Grey Forest Police Chief Rene Rodriguez said via telephone.
San Antonio City Manager Erik Walsh released the following statement Thursday afternoon:
“We are obviously pleased that the arbitrator agreed that the egregious behavior merited termination by Chief McManus. We do not tolerate domestic violence and will continue to hold employees accountable.”