Mercedes officer fired after arrest

A Mercedes police officer has been dismissed from the department after he was arrested for public intoxication Monday.

The department announced the arrest and termination in a news release Wednesday.

Jesus Ramirez was arrested by Mercedes police just after 6 p.m. Monday, when officers located him at a Stripes convenience store on Second Street in Mercedes.

Officials say the arrest came after Ramirez made several phone calls to other Mercedes police officers and dispatch to request that someone “have him picked up in County jurisdiction in Weslaco,” according to the news release.

When officers found Ramirez at the convenience store, they “observed him to be displaying signs of being intoxicated,” the statement further reads.

Investigators later determined that Ramirez, his wife and another relative had been drinking in Mexico before having a dispute at a department store in Progreso.

“Officers learned that Jesus Ramirez had been involved in a verbal argument with his wife. Officer’s (sic) heard yelling in the background and notified their supervisor,” the statement reads.

Ramirez was terminated from the department and awaits an initial appearance before a judge for one charge of public intoxication, the statement reads.