Police in Austin Suspended a Sergeant for Failing to Secure a Crime Scene in January

Police in Austin Suspended a Sergeant for Failing to Secure a Crime Scene in January

Dallas, Texas According to officials, a sergeant with the Austin Police Department who was under investigation by internal affairs for a January incident was suspended in July.

According to a report written on July 12 by Police Chief Joseph Chacon, Homicide Sgt. Jesse Sanchez disregarded his obligation to work on a homicide case.

Sanchez did not take the necessary steps to secure a crime scene.

Two officers arrived shortly after receiving a call at 3 a.m. on Jan. 23 reporting a guy lying in the road at a junction in southeast Austin, according to the memo. Before police arrived on the scene, Officer #1 had already arrived at the hospital where the victim had been taken.

Officer #1 was informed by EMS and fire department representatives that they were unsure if the victim had been assaulted or hit by a car. At 3:38 a.m., he was pronounced dead. According to the document, Officer #1 later learned from medical personnel that they discovered the man’s hair gripped in his fist and signs of head trauma.

Officer #2 went to where the victim was found at the junction. Before the officer arrived, the scene had already been cleaned by the fire department.

Officer #1 instructed Sgt. Sanchez to release the scene at 4:05 in the morning, according to the memo.

Detectives would not be coming to the location, according to Sanchez.

The facts of the situation were relayed to Sanchez by Officer #2, who informed him that there was blood visible and what appeared to be blood matter, as well as debris on the ground and a cracked vehicle window with blood spatter close.

Sanchez shared the same information with officer 2 as he did with the first. Lieutenant #2 complied.

Later that day, in the afternoon, Sanchez dispatched his detectives to the area. The person had been killed, it was determined. A suspect was accused of murder after confessing to the crime.

The memo indicates that the case is still pending.

The email goes on to say that on February 9, a complaint was made to Internal Affairs, charging Sanchez with improperly handling the crime scene. It was asked that Sanchez’s negligence be the subject of an investigation.

“Sgt. Sanchez ought to have dispatched the Crime Area Unit and the On-Call Homicide Detectives to the scene right away to look for and gather any relevant evidence. Additionally, his Chain-of-Command found that Sgt. Sanchez discharged the crime scene without having the evidence properly processed, which may have hampered the prosecution of this case, Chacon wrote in the report.

Sanchez’s own remarks and actions should have prompted him to adhere to the aforementioned protocol, he continued, even if he is aware that the fire team polluted the scene with a wash down.

Sanchez was only suspended from July 13 to July 17 because he had no prior disciplinary procedures against him and accepted full responsibility.

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