El Paso County Police Records – We provide El Paso residents with the information they need to make important decisions. You can help us raise $10,000 by May 3rd. And if you’ve never donated to El Paso Matters before, our goal is to get 50 first-time donors.
Democratic candidates for El Paso County Sheriff in the March 2024 primary are, from left, Robert “Bobby” Flores, Ryan Urrutia, Oscar Ugarte, Michael Gonzalez and Raul Mendiola.
El Paso County Police Records
We provide El Paso residents with the information they need to make important decisions. Please help us reach our goal of raising $10,000 by May 3rd to continue this vital work.
Women Police Officers Underrepresented In El Paso
Two Democratic candidates for El Paso County sheriff have been reprimanded for using county stationery to buy gun silencers for personal use in a way that allowed them to avoid federal waiting periods and taxes.
One of them was also reprimanded for having sexual relations with a colleague’s partner and for falsifying salary records. Another was repeatedly accused of inappropriate conversations and contacts with female colleagues.
El Paso Matters used public records laws to obtain the disciplinary records of all five Democratic candidates from their work with local law enforcement agencies. Three of the candidates with the longest careers in law enforcement — Robert “Bobby” Flores, Ryan Urrutia and Michael Gonzalez — had the most extensive disciplinary records.
Democrats Flores, Gonzalez, Urrutia, Raul Mendiola and Oscar Ugarte are seeking to replace Sheriff Richard Wiles, who is not seeking re-election and is retiring after 15 years.
New Documents Detail How Drugs Entered El Paso County Jail Leading To Overdose Death
The primary election will be held on March 5, and early voting will continue until Friday, March 1. If no candidate gets more than 50% of the votes, the first two candidates will go to the second round in May. The winner will face Republican Minerva Torres Shelton in November.
Both candidates, Flores and Gonzalez, who worked for the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, filed more complaints about its staff than their opponents, according to the Texas Public Information Act.
Flores had nine internal affairs complaints in the 1990s, four of which resulted in disciplinary action, according to disciplinary records. Flores, 53, is a former assistant chief who spent 33 years with the sheriff’s office.
In 2015, Flores was reprimanded for fraternizing with a co-worker, internal affairs documents show.
Board & Staff
Wiles reprimanded Flores for violating the department’s code of conduct, misconduct outside of duty, public trust and fraternity.
Oops An error occurred and we could not process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.
El Paso County Sheriff candidate Bobby Flores speaks at a forum on mental health in law enforcement on Jan. 31. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
“You committed abuse when you had sex with another employee in a committed relationship. This behavior is harmful to the workplace and has a negative impact on it,” the reprimand said.
Arrest Records El Paso Tx
Before filing the complaint, Flores said he began dating a woman who had previously dated another sheriff’s deputy. he didn’t think about anything.
“We all have exes. It was a dating relationship,” Flores told El Paso Matters on Tuesday. He said that a few months later, the deputy contacted him and said that he was trying to settle things with that woman.
Flores said she was initially unaware of the situation and ended the relationship after the deputy approached her. However, according to Flores, he is still dating, according to the complaint.
“I was a bit withdrawn because he had his story and he had his side,” she said, adding that he took charge of the relationship.
El Paso County Coroner Performed Record Number Of Autopsies In 2021
In 2001, Flores was reprimanded by then-Sheriff Leo Samanieg for allowing two deputies to work part-time on patrol while he was allegedly on active duty. He also ordered them to falsify their work reports to show they worked at the department’s substation when they were actually working security at the Adobe Hacienda restaurant, documents show.
Flores also allowed the two deputies to stay late for shifts and leave early to work at the restaurant, but they were paid for the entire eight-hour shift, according to the documents. Flores was reprimanded for, among other things, falsifying government documents, violating the code of professional conduct and civil service rules.
Flores said the complaint was filed at a time when the department was struggling with overtime.
“The commander told us, ‘Look, if you can work with your people, and if they want vacation instead of overtime, then let them do it,’ and I said, ‘OK, no problem,'” Flores said.
One Dead After Shooting Shuts Down El Paso County Courthouse. Suspect Arrested, Colorado Springs Police Say
Deputies will work security at football games or other duties before going to work, he said. He said supervisors would give them eight hours instead of 3 hours of overtime.
“When the problem came up, I said, ‘Yeah, that’s what I did,'” Flores said. “I mean, we tried to reduce overtime.
The most recent complaint was in 2020, when Flores was reprimanded by Wiles for purchasing a silencer or firearm silencer from a local company. According to the reprimand, he and other Sheriff’s Office employees, including Urrutia, used department letterheads, even though the silencers were purchased by individual employees. The sheriff’s office does not use a silencer, the documents state.
The purchases violated Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms regulations. The memo said sheriff’s officials avoided a federally mandated waiting period and a $200 tax by allowing the purchases to appear to be for law enforcement purposes.
Procession Held For Colorado K9 Jinx That Died In Line Of Duty
Flores was reprimanded for violating the code of conduct, breach of duty, professional conduct and appearance, among others.
Disciplinary records show Urrutia and Flores were reprimanded for the same internal affairs case involving the purchase of suppressors.
“This was done to avoid federal taxes and long waiting periods.” Additionally, Commander Flores was able to obtain a free suppressor in exchange for offering the company a sales table at a law enforcement conference,” the disciplinary summary said.
Flores said when he contacted the company, they were told that buying a silencer was no problem because they worked for the sheriff’s office, but that if they left, they would have to get a permit and pay a $200 tax bill.
Deputy Recruit Certified
“I thought, OK, no problem. I mean, I’m still going to keep working, so I said, ‘Here’s your money,'” Flores said, adding that the ATF later said they did not take the right steps.
“I didn’t do it to get around any part of the law,” Flores said. “If I had to do something, I did what I had to do to make it right.
Urrutia, a Sheriff’s Office commander who has been with the department since 1996, was also reprimanded for purchasing a suppressor and failing to notify the department that other employees had purchased it.
El Paso County Sheriff candidate Ryan Urrutia will speak Jan. 31 at a forum on mental health in law enforcement. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Affairs)
Use Of Force Case At El Paso County Jail Settled For $675,000
Urrutia, 50, said at the time of purchase, they were under the impression that the company had given them the correct information about the filing.
“I really trusted their management, (then) we realized we weren’t following through, so I immediately returned the product I bought,” Urrutia said. “It was my fault in internal affairs and I took responsibility for my actions and the sheriff reprimanded me.”
Records show Urrutia had five internal affairs complaints during his career with the department. Three of the complaints resulted in reprimands.
In May 2003, Urrutia was reprimanded by Samaniego for failing to provide 12 traffic recommendations.
El Paso Most Wanted Fugitives For The Week Of November 5
In a phone interview with El Paso Matters on Tuesday, Urrutia said he was a junior patrol deputy at the time and had received the newspaper quotes incorrectly.
“It was an oversight on my part (and) I went out there and took responsibility for my actions,” he said.
In September 2012, Urrutia received another citation for violating motor vehicle pursuit rules when he allowed an unmarked vehicle to take part in the pursuit. The unmarked vehicle had no siren, identification tag or hazard lights.
“As a supervisor, you should never have allowed an unmarked unit to be prosecuted,” the reprimand said.
El Paso County Case Search
Urrutia said he realized he made a mistake during the investigation and took responsibility for it.
“Ultimately, as a supervisor, I was responsible for running the department, and the sheriff understood and appreciated that I took responsibility for that,” he said. “I received a letter of reprimand, which I was fine with because I understand what I could have done better.
Gonzalez’s disciplinary records show he had 20 internal affairs complaints filed against him during his 22 years with the department. Gonzalez, 48,
Police records el paso tx, el paso police reports, el paso county records, el paso texas police records, el paso county divorce records, el paso police records, el paso marriage records, el paso property records, el paso county birth records, el paso county marriage records, el paso police arrest records, el paso county records search