The San Antonio police officer received a three-day suspension in January after previously facing a more severe punishment.
SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio police officer was suspended for three days in January after he was found lying on the sidewalk along Jones Maltsberger road one morning last summer, having admitted to drinking beforehand, according to department disciplinary records.
Officer Juan Pena, who has been with the department since January 2010, was found at around 2:45 a.m. by other SAPD officers who were patrolling the area on Aug. 22. They identified him as one of their own and “could smell a strong odor of intoxicants emitting” from him, records show.
He told the officers he had been drinking at the bar and thought he was “down the street” from his home when, in reality, he was about seven miles away, according to records. He was also slurring his words, something that was evident in the officers’ body camera recordings.
SAPD concluded Pena’s actions constituted a violation of department policy related to being drunk “while in public view.”
Pena served his suspension from Jan. 12-14, having successfully argued to have the discipline shortened from five days.