SAN JUAN — San Juan Police Chief Ruben Morin was placed on administrative leave Tuesday as the city investigates whether he targeted officers after he received unfavorable results from a Texas Municipal Police Association survey.
A standing-room-only crowd of supporters filled the meeting room at the San Juan Memorial Library as members of the San Juan City Commission discussed taking action on the police chief.
The item was initially set on the agenda for discussion in executive session; however, Morin asked that the item be discussed in open session.
City Manager Benjamin Arjona recommended that the city place Morin on administrative leave for no less than two weeks and no more than 30 days while the city looks into allegations that police officers were being retaliated against following the results of the TMPA management survey, which was requested by the San Juan Police Union.
“We did not request this (survey), it was requested by the union members,” Arjona said after the meeting. “We want to see what’s going on, what accusations that they’re doing, so that we can get to the bottom of it.”
Commissioners Adina “Dina” Santillan and Ernesto “Neto” Guajardo voted to place Morin on administrative leave following a motion made by Mayor Pro-Tem Leonardo “Lenny” Sanchez. Mayor Mario Garza and Commissioner Marco “Markie” Villegas abstained from voting — both saying they have yet to review the survey.
“I just felt it was the right thing to do — to abstain,” Villegas said after the meeting. “I understand that it’s a union. They have their own ways, as the chief was explaining. That’s their survey, per se, and they own it. As commissioner, it’s my due diligence — it’s my job to make sure that everything is done correctly. I have not heard the chief’s side, and rightfully so, I need to make sure that he’s heard out as well. He has his due process.”
Garza said that TMPA representatives visited with the city manager to discuss the morale at the police department and how it has been running under Morin’s leadership.
“I haven’t seen the survey. I don’t know what it looks like, what type of questions were asked, I don’t even know what kind of answers were answered,” Garza said. “That’s why I decided tonight to abstain from the vote to give me an opportunity to get with the person who’s in charge of the survey so I can take a look at it.”
Morin, who appeared to be flustered during the meeting, said he was caught off guard by the allegations made against him.
“You just heard it just like I just heard it,” Morin said after the meeting. “I’m very surprised because I have not gone through the survey that they — we sat down with the TMPA representative, Mr. Rodriguez, and they gave me like 40 questions that were filled out, but they were generalized questions. There were no follow-ups to them.
“There were some concerns about retaliation, and there used to be retaliation with the previous administration,” he continued. “I’ve changed that culture to where we don’t tolerate that kind of behavior from anybody, not from my command staff or any coworkers. I’m trying to find out, who are they claiming is doing retaliation, because that’s not happening in this police department.”
Morin said that despite his suspension, he feels confident in the outcome of the investigation and looks forward to moving on from the allegations.
“I’m not worried about that,” Morin said. “I’m very confident that once this investigation has been conducted by the city manager, I’m very confident that I’m going to come out on top of this. I know what I’ve been doing with this police department, and it’s all about respecting each other.”
