SAN ANTONIO – A detective with the Criminal Investigations Division at the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office was arrested early Friday on suspicion of DWI and evading arrest.
Sheriff Javier Salazar confirmed the arrest of Ernesto Garza, 32, to KSAT 12 News. Salazar said Garza has been with BCSO for eight years. He was assigned as a detective in the Law Enforcement Bureau.
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According to a preliminary police report, a DWI officer with the San Antonio Police Department was traveling southbound on Interstate 10 West near Vance Jackson Road around 2:20 a.m., when he noticed a 2016 Buick Encore going 80 mph in a 60 mph speed zone, failing to maintain a single lane and changing lanes improperly.
The officer activated his emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop, but the driver didn’t pull over, the report said. The officer then turned off his emergency light and began to follow the car and asked for SAPD’s helicopter to make the officer’s location.
The Buick traveled on Interstate 35 North and exited at New Braunfels Avenue, where a couple of blocks away, the driver ran a red light, the report said. The driver stopped shortly after that and was taken into custody.
Garza refused a field sobriety test and was then taken to the magistrate’s office, where he refused to take a breath test, the report said. A blood warrant was applied for and then served on Garza.
He was then booked into the Bexar County Jail on charges of DWI and evading arrest in a vehicle.
“He investigates crimes for a living, and he, more than anybody, should really know the ramifications of his behavior. It’s inexcusable,” Salazar said of Garza’s arrest.
Garza has been served a notice of proposed dismissal for the arrest in accordance with BCSO policies and procedures with Bexar County Civil Service Rules.
A separate but concurrent administrative investigation is underway, pending the outcome of the criminal case that is being handled by the San Antonio Police Department.