a San Antonio police officer is fighting
for his job for a second time in his
short career detective Leroy Medellin a
five year veteran has been indefinitely
suspended from the department which is
equal to being fired three times since
2015
he's currently facing two separate
suspensions from last year one of the
suspensions handed down after s APD
officials alleged he was untruthful
about his reason for chasing a suspect
in a stolen truck Medlin's claimed that
the driver nearly ran him over
challenged by s APD internal affairs
investigators after reviewing video of
the incident tonight Medlin defends his
actions and criticizes the department's
pursuit policy in this defenders
investigation April 28 2018 - a.m.
detective Medellin stopped this truck on
I 37 to find out why the plates didn't
match the vehicle approached with with
extreme caution because in my mind this
vehicle is stolen and for all I know
this dude is you know he's a felon
unable to produce a driver's license or
a good explanation the driver makes a
dangerous decision
[Applause]
Medlen gives chase according to s APD's
pursuit policy a suspect fleeing and a
stolen vehicle is not enough to initiate
a pursuit but a supervisor approved it
when Medlin made this claim Hedlund
chased the suspect for several miles
until the supervisor terminated the
pursuit when it crossed into another
county s APD's Eagle helicopter a DPS
chopper and officers from other agencies
on the ground continued to chase the
suspect later identified as beau Gooch
he was eventually arrested after a two
hour long standoff
when supervisors reviewed video of the
pursuit they determined Medlin lied
about almost being hit by the truck
resulting in an indefinite suspension
and a tense interview with internal
affairs investigators describe to me how
because I'll be honest with you
the sergeant didn't see that on the
Copan I don't see how I commit sir that
the perception and the the would he call
it the perspective you get from these
cameras is not the same as a live human
being unless you were there in the field
and in my shoes you wouldn't really know
what that feels like would you I think
it's very irresponsible and unfair for
them to say you know what detective
Midland I'm telling you there is no way
you could have felt that way that night
when they weren't there
Medlen says he was just doing his job
he's critical of the department's
pursuit policy which he was also accused
of violating in 2015 earning him his
first indefinite suspension in that case
he chased a suspect with a toddler in
the back seat when he refused to
identify himself hitting speeds of over
a hundred miles an hour the chase was
not authorized
Medlen believes the policy is too
restrictive and lets bad guys get away
these offenders that take off and run
they need to be caught these guys are
wanted on robbery active robbery
warnings
warrant you got some big-time thugs gang
members that are getting away and they
know this they know the system the
department eventually reduced the 2015
indefinite suspension to five days
rolling it into another disciplinary
case and giving Medlin a last chance
agreement Medellin had completed the
requirements of that agreement just
weeks before the April chase I wouldn't
change a single thing I would do
everything the same Medellin believes
his previous disciplinary issues have
made him a target of the administration
but he still wants his job back the
evidence speaks for itself people are
gonna have their opinions about me
that's fine everybody has their own
opinion but you know we're here because
there's always two sides to a story
here's what s APD Chief William McMahon
has had to say about detective Medellin
quote former officer Medellin believes
that the rules don't apply to him he
knowingly violate violated policy and
then lied in an attempt to justify his
reckless actions as a result of his
violations he was terminated end quote
now in addition to being accused of
lying about almost being hit by the
truck
Medellin was hammered by investigators
for hitting speeds of a hundred and six
miles per hour after the chase already
ended last month Medellin was handed
another indefinite suspension for
insubordination stemming from tickets he
was riding at accident scenes which his
supervisor told him not to do I go into
more details about his case and Medlin's
past disciplinary problems in an article
right now on our website at Casey Calm