After an investigation by the Express-News into police officers who’ve been fired for serious misconduct but then returned to the force, the president of the San Antonio Police Officers Association in under fire after he offered his opinion about the severity of the N-word.
One of the cases examined was that of Officer Tim Garcia, who was fired in 2018 after body cam video captured him repeatedly calling a handcuffed prisoner the N-word. The Express-News reports that an arbitrator reduced Garcia’s punishment to a 10-month suspension and he is now back on the job.
Speaking to the Express-News, SAPOA president Mike Helle said that attempts to get Garcia fired were an example of Police Chief William McManus trying to “rule as if he’s a monarch.”
“And if anybody knows a lapse in a moment when they lose their composure, our mayor [Ron Nirenberg] said the exact same offensive-like cuss word when he [said ‘goddamn’] when he was on TV in front of the entire crowd and audience, right?”
When pressed if he truly believes “godddamn” is equivalent to the N-word, Helle replied, “For me, yes, it is.”
“Why don’t you go ask one of our pastors or anybody that that’s their faith?” he said.
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