Fired SAPD officer claims there was a City Council connection to the man he chased and beat

SAN ANTONIO – A fired San Antonio police officer made his case, among other things, saying there were “politics involved” – some of them apparently close to home.

Thomas Villarreal was fired and prosecuted for a January 2020 arrest in which he and another former SAPD officer, Carlos Castro, kicked in a door and repeatedly punched a man, Eric Wilson, who was escaping an attempted traffic stop.

Lawyers for the city of San Antonio said Wilson spent three days in the hospital and suffered a broken nose and orbital bone. His drug and evading arrest charges from that night were later dismissed.

The two former police officers faced life in prison for aggravated assault by a public servant, but both cases were ultimately dismissed after a mistrial in October 2023.

The couple’s attorneys had learned that three state experts had said in preliminary interviews that the officers were constitutionally entitled to arrest Wilson and that they were entitled to enter Wilson’s home and search his car.

Both men are now trying to appeal their indefinite suspensions. Villarreal’s two-day arbitration hearing ended on Wednesday.

READ MORE: Fired SAPD officer defies life sentence and tries to get job back

Villarreal’s lawyer argued his actions were justified and that he had been made a “scapegoat.” SAPD Chief William McManus flatly denied that he fired Villarreal for political reasons.

An advisory panel of civilians and police officers had recommended a suspension of up to five days, and McManus was apparently considering a 15-day suspension.

However, Villarreal was suspended indefinitely at the beginning of July 2020. That was about six weeks after the killing of George Floyd, which sparked protests against police brutality and calls for reform across the country, including in San Antonio.

“Aunt” city councilor

Villarreal said he also learned that Wilson was associated with a then-City Council member whose name he could not remember.

“At some point, I don’t remember exactly when, but we found out that he – his aunt was on the city council at the time. I don’t remember what – I think District 2. I don’t remember exactly what, but she was on the city council,” Villarreal testified during his hearing Wednesday.

“I know this through other people, other officers and some type of leadership in our unit who have received this information. And it was communicated to me. And then we looked and actually found that they were related. I don’t remember exactly how they are related. I think that’s his aunt,” he said.

However, Villarreal said he had no personal knowledge of the connection and did not provide evidence of it at Wednesday’s hearing.

Then-District 2 Councilwoman Jada Andrews-Sullivan did not immediately respond to a text message or voicemail from KSAT Wednesday asking if she was related to Wilson.

However, her former chief of staff Lou Miller said he was unaware of any connection between the two. He also said Andrews-Sullivan had shown no political muscle over Wilson’s arrest.

Trio of SAPD Academy instructors agree with Villarreal’s actions

Villarreal’s lawyer called only three witnesses to defend the former officer. All are current or former instructors at the SAPD Training Academy who were consulted by the prosecutor in the criminal case against Villarreal.

They found that he had not crossed any boundaries.

Retired SAPD officer James McDonald taught arrest, search and seizure; the Constitution; and Criminal Procedure Law at the Academy before retiring in November 2023. He said he testified during a fact-finding hearing that Villarreal and Castro “felt the need to break into the house.”

McDonald said an SAPD unit’s emergency lights had already gone out when Wilson got out of his car in his own driveway, but he still walked away even though the lights remained on and officers asked him to stop.

McDonald also mentioned that the car smelled of marijuana. However, it was not clear after Tuesday’s hearing whether officers noticed an odor before or after the arrest.

“So now it’s like, ‘Is he going in to destroy evidence?'” McDonald said.

Officer Juan Mandujano, one of the academy’s senior tactics instructors, and Officer William Badders, who served as an arrest mechanics instructor at the academy for two years, both agreed to the use of force.

“From what I saw from this officer, it didn’t appear to me that it (the use of force) … was excessive,” said Mandujano, who also taught Villarreal at the academy.

The city’s outside attorney, Donna McElroy, said the trainers didn’t have all the facts. She also noted that a fourth instructor, who teaches use of force at the academy, testified during the criminal trial that it was not an appropriate use of force.

Neither side brought this fourth instructor into question during the hearing. But the city hired former Dallas Police Department Deputy Chief Craig Miller to analyze the case.

Miller testified Tuesday that Villarreal and Castro didn’t have enough to take action against Wilson once he entered the house.

“That wasn’t Jack the Ripper,” Miller said. “This was an individual who angered the officers because he did not comply with their request and went into his house without their permission and did not come out when they asked him to come out. And the officers were frustrated.”

Villarreal declined KSAT’s request for an interview at the end of his hearing.

Although the in-person hearing has concluded, the referee’s decision on whether Villarreal gets his job back is unlikely to come for at least two months.

Castro’s arbitration proceedings are still pending.

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