The officer was assigned to investigate a report of loud music one March morning. Within 15 minutes, he cleared it—without ever going there, records say.
SAN ANTONIO — An officer with the San Antonio Police Department didn’t respond to an assigned call for service in March, despite saying he checked out the area and couldn’t find the person who initially contacted police, according to records.
As a result, suspension records say, Officer Laurence Levi was suspended indefinitely and without pay as of June 11.
Documents say SAPD received a report of loud music in the 200 block of Burleson the morning of March 1, around 10:45 a.m. Within 15 minutes of securing a sergeant’s authorization to conduct a “patrol-by” through the area, records say, Levi “cleared the call,” saying he couldn’t find the complainant.
“However, contrary to San Antonio Police Department procedures, he neither relocated to the location of his assigned call nor placed comments on the keycard detailing the measures he took to locate a complaint or ascertain that an offense didn’t take place,” suspension records state.
SAPD was also able to determine through location records that he didn’t go to the 200 block of Burleson at all before clearing it. Additionally, police found he didn’t activate his body camera after receiving the call like officers are required to.
And, in another strike against him, records state Levi was “untruthful” when he reported hearing from another officer that the radio call of the sergeant authorizing him to response to the loud noise “could have been incorrectly interpreted.” He was found to have violated five department rules in all.
“Officer Levi defied the authority of an SAPD supervisory officer when he failed to obey a lawful order,” SAPD officials concluded, according to records.