SAN MARCOS POLICE DEPARTMENT
Activists are questioning the merit of a San Marcos Police Department arrest that could lead to a San Antonio man’s deportation.
Gerardo Reyes Gonzalez was the passenger in a vehicle that his 17-year-old son Esteban Victor Reyes was driving when they were pulled over by San Marcos police on March 14. A video of the incident shows officers demanding that the teen driver exit the vehicle, to which he responded, “for what?”
He then said, “Y’all haven’t told me nothing,” and “I’m underage,” while the officers attempted to forcibly remove him from the vehicle. In response, Gonzalez grabs Reyes’ arm and repeats “That’s my son.”
Gonzalez and his son were booked into the Hays County Jail and charged with Interfering with Public Duties. The son was released, but Gonzalez is now being detained by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement.
Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra and the Caldwell Hays Education Fund held a press conference with Gonzalez’ daughter, Lupe Sarinana.
“We are living in a moment where fear is starting to creep into our own communities, and now it appears that fear may also be coming from our very own, local law enforcement agencies we have trusted and supported for years,” Becerra said. “I do not want our local law enforcement acting like ICE agents.
“You are better trained than that. You have a stronger relationship with this community than that, and this community holds you to a higher standard because they believe in you. We must live up to that trust. I pray that our leaders and local law enforcement will look at this incident and choose to be more respectful of our residents.”
According to a spokesperson for SMPD, they received a report of a 15-year-old girl attempting to leave her residence with an older male in a red truck.
“The mother did not know who was inside the vehicle,” the SMPD spokesperson said. “At the time that officers were dispatched, it was not clear whether the daughter was still at the residence or whether she had left and gotten into the truck.”
SMPD said that they initiated a high-risk traffic stop when they found a vehicle matching the description of the one mentioned in the emergency call. SMPD used the loudspeaker to demand that the driver step out of the truck, but they said he did not respond. The officers then attempted to remove him from the vehicle.
“While officers were attempting to remove him from the driver’s seat, the adult passenger of the vehicle, later identified as the driver’s father, held onto his arm and attempted to keep the driver inside the truck,” the SMPD spokesperson said. “Both the driver and the passenger, from San Antonio, did not cooperate with officers as they attempted to determine the location of the 15-year-old girl.”
Sarinana condemned the situation and pointed out that her father does not speak English, which made it difficult for him to understand what was happening.
“I just want to add that it’s inhumane that law enforcement does that to families, and, especially, to a father who was just trying to understand what was happening with his son,” Sarinana said. “The only thing my dad was doing was just asking questions. [He] had to see what was going on, and apparently, obviously had the language barrier. So of course, he couldn’t understand them, and they couldn’t understand him.”
SMPD said the driver and passenger were arrested due to “probable cause established by responding officers during the traffic stop.”
“Upon further investigation, officers determined the 15-year-old girl was still at the residence and no additional offenses had occurred,” the SMPD spokesperson said. “After they were booked into the jail, the arresting officer learned that the adult passenger was subject to an immigration detainer issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The arresting officer was not aware of the detainer while on the scene of the traffic stop.”
Becerra called for more transparency surrounding the arrest.
“We need to understand more as to why, because the charges so far don’t call for a reason for being pulled over,” Becerra said. “We need transparency. We need your support, because today, it’s her father. Tomorrow, it could be yours.”
Sarinana said her father is now in a detention center that has fences with barbed wires and other difficult living conditions.
“They always tell him he has to sign something, and, if not, they take visitation hours away and stuff like that. So he says, ‘Okay.’ He’s just really overwhelmed knowing that he doesn’t want to make the wrong move with anything. And on top of that, he does live in a cell with four other inmates. … They only eat once a day. And then the commissary that we do buy him, … we can only buy it on Saturday, and he gets it Monday,” Sarinana said. “It makes me feel very angry because all he was doing was protecting his son.”
Sarinana said her father is the breadwinner for the home, and life without him will be difficult for the family, in addition to the costs associated with the arrest.
“Now we have to raise money, … find lawyers, and it’s just not fair,” Sarinana said. “He’s been here for more than 20 years, and he has committed no crime.”
The SMPD spokesperson said the department “is reviewing the incident.”
