3 police officers arrested for drunk driving in 1 night
(CNN) – Three San Antonio law enforcement officers are facing drinking and driving charges, each taken into custody in separate incidents by fellow officers, and all in the same night.
Gena Rodriguez and Harold Thomaston, both San Antonio police officers, were both arrested within hours of each other Thursday night.
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said, “Anytime an officer gets arrested for anything it’s disappointing, but DWI is just so, so preventable, and there is really no excuse for it.”
Police say Rodriguez is an 11-year veteran and was driving with her three kids in the car when she rear-ended another car. When an officer arrived to the accident, he said Rodriguez was slurring her speech, smelled like alcohol and was unsteady on her feet.
A few hours later, 20-year San Antonio police veteran, Harold Thomaston was pulled over. Police say he swerved into the lane of a fellow SAPD officer, then ran a red light.
Chief McManus said, “SAPD officers were arrested by SAPD officers, so absolutely not, they are not held to a different standard, they are held to a higher standard.”
A Bexar County deputy was also arrested for DWI that night.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said, “I am furious, there is no other way to put it, I am furious about it.”
24-year-old Sabrina Moreno was arrested by an SAPD officer near I-10 and USAA Boulevard. She’s been with the sheriff’s office for just eight months.
Sheriff Salazar said, “I am extremely proud of those officers that made the right calls last night and did what they had to do in spite of their own personal feelings, in spite of whatever else may have been going on, they did their job and I am proud that we have officers like that on the streets that are willing to make that sacrifice.”
The two San Antonio officers are now on administrative leave pending both internal and criminal investigations.