San Antonio PD officer fired for not showing up to fatal shooting of Melissa Perez; second officer suspended
Published: Sat, 01/13/24
SAPD officer fired for not showing up to fatal shooting of Melissa Perez; second officer suspended
Alexis Tovar, center, poses Sunday, June 25, with a photo of her mother, Melissa Perez, who was shot and killed by three San Antonio police department officers. Seated with Tovar are her aunt, Daisy Nieto, left, and her husband, Adrian Tovar.
William Luther/Staff
This photo combo shows from left, Sgt. Alfred Flores and Officers Eleazar Alejandro and Nathaniel Villalobos. The three San Antonio police officers were charged, Friday, June 23, with murder in the fatal shooting of a woman who was experiencing what the city's police chief said was a “mental health crisis.”
San Antonio Police Department
A San Antonio police officer was fired and another suspended after they failed to respond to a call that resulted in the death of Melissa Perez in June.
Lt. Steven Velasquez was given an indefinite suspension after he left his shift four hours early that fateful night in June without prior authorization, according to police disciplinary records. Indefinite suspension is another way of saying an officer was fired.
“Lieutenant Velasquez was not attentive to his duties when he failed to make the scene of an officer-involved shooting as the highest ranking member assigned to the South Patrol service area,” disciplinary records state.
Sgt. Paul Rodriguez was given a seven-day suspension after he changed out of his uniform and left the police station 45 minutes early the same night. Rodriguez’s disciplinary records mention the shooting but do not state if he was supposed to respond to the call.
Last month, two former San Antonio Police Department officers, Sgt. Alfred Flores and Eleazar Alejandro, were indicted by a Bexar County grand jury on a murder charge in the death of 46-year-old Melissa Perez. They also were charged with aggravated assault by a public servant, aggravated assault by a public servant with a deadly weapon, manslaughter and deadly conduct.
A third officer, Nathaniel Villalobos, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and deadly conduct.
Flores, Alejandro and Villalobos are accused of shooting into Perez’s apartment after she allegedly threw a glass candlestick at an officer and rushed toward police with a hammer. Family members of Perez said she had schizophrenia.
All three officers were suspended immediately, pending the outcome of the charges. However, disciplinary records show that Flores and Villalobos were suspended for violating department rules on Dec. 6.
Officers responded to the Rosemont at Miller’s Pond apartments around 12:30 a.m. June 23 after a neighbor called 911 to report that Perez had cut the wires to the complex’s fire alarm system. Initially, Perez cooperated with officers but grew upset after police asked her to walk to their patrol car. She ran to her apartment and locked the door.
Flores and Villalobos jumped over the back patio railing, where officers communicated with Perez. Flores and another officer tried to enter the apartment through the patio door.
Disciplinary records state that Flores “failed to use sound judgment” by directing officers to breach the apartment and attempt to arrest Perez.
At some point, Perez charged “toward the closed patio door while swinging the hammer,” striking the window, according to records.
Flores, Alejandro and Villalobos fired between 12 and 16 rounds at Perez, hitting her twice, according to investigators. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Disciplinary records state that she did not pose a threat and was “separated from the officers by a closed door and an open window blocked by a television.” All three officers were arrested on the day of the shooting.
McManus said the officers’ actions “were not consistent with SAPD’s policy and training,”
