San Antonio Police Stole My Wallet & Returned It, Minus the Cash

Submitted by Scott Fair

When: February 15th, 2014
Individual Responsible: Name Unknown (Editor’s note: get the names of aggressors!)
Individual’s Place of Employment: San Antonio Police Department, Texas

I was leaving a local business on the far northwest side of San Antonio next to USAA Bank. Had just gotten onto 1604 to head an exit or two down the road to go to my apartment located at the time close to UTSA campus.

I had never once had a ticket for anything ever. I was in the far left lane out of two, not including the emergency lane. Cars all around me. Front, back, side. I noticed a SAPD had pulled someone over, as they were standing next to the driver’s window of that car. The next exit was mine.

The next thing I knew the flashers where behind me. I knowing that 1604 was crowded and dangerous, safely got over to the right lane with signal light used. I exited the exit and immediately pulled into the McDonald’s parking lot. The officer approached me and stated he observed me speeding. I was shocked and confused. The anxiety, the sweats, the nerves all hit me hard. But I knew I had not done anything wrong.

He asked for me to step out and stated to me that I was speeding. I asked the officer how that could have been possible. And how he could’ve got that idea when cars were all around me. He wasn’t even in his car to clock my speed.

He then asked if I would do a field sobriety test. The one with the eyeballs and fingers. The straight line. The whole works. I passed the test and he stated I passed the test. He was microphoned up. He then asked me to give a breathelyzer. I refused. Why should I? I wasn’t drunk. I didn’t do any drugs!

He then arrested me for not doing the test. This guy still hadn’t even got my drivers license yet. I was put in the back of the car arrested like a criminal. Very humiliating. I noticed he had a screen in his car with video of the dash cam going. He came back and asked for my license. I told him it was in the console under the CD player. The video shows he grabbed my whole wallet. And brought it into his car. Weirdly enough he never checked it into my “property inventory” when I was unlawfully put into jail.

When I bailed out with my signature a few days later, I immediately walked to the internal affairs office to file a complaint about my missing wallet and money. The investigating officer didn’t believe me. In fact he stated he knows his wife, his kids play with that officer’s kids, and everyone locked up is always “missing $200 or something.” I noted this apparent conflict of interest that I saw on the monitor from the police car–that it should’ve been recorded that he took possession.

Internal affairs called later. They located my wallet, but not my money. They would like to bring my wallet to me. Although I was super paranoid after the whole deal I said “ok.” Him and another officer brought my wallet back. Minus any money.

Nobody ever made things right. And the cost of money that a fabricated report and false arrest cost me thousands of dollars in time out of work, drug test every month, etc. Had I have known all my rights awhile back ago this might not have ended up this way. It was also on my arrest records when I would apply for jobs. Not as a conviction. But still hard to explain that I was done wrong and totally humiliating. I lost all faith in police after that situation.

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