SAN BENITO — For two years, former Police Chief Michael Galvan’s portrait hung in the police department’s lobby.
Now, it’s been taken down, leaving a blank space amid portraits of Mayor Ben Gomez and city commissioners.
Behind the locked metal doors, police officers are awaiting the findings of the police department’s internal affairs investigation into the events leading to the fatal shooting of Ricardo Treviño, 21, six months ago today.
Last night, his mother April Flores called on commissioners to release the investigation’s findings.
“So many policies were violated,” Flores said as she tried to hold back tears. “All we want is the truth. We’ve waited six months. How much longer are we going to wait. My son’s life mattered and I will continue to be his voice —because he can’t speak.”
From the podium, Alfonso Benavides called for “justice.”
“We are aware that the internal affairs investigation is complete,” Benavides, the family’s spokesman told commissioners. “We are expecting justice for Ricardo Treviño III. Officers have been fired for far less.”
Today marks the 180th day since police officers and two Precinct 5 deputy constables repeatedly shot Treviño after a chase came to end in El Ranchito Dec. 7.
It also marks the deadline for the completion of the internal affairs investigation, which is expected to determine whether officers followed policy and procedure during the events leading to the shooting.
“The mood — People are waiting to see what happens,” police Supervisor Art Flores, Treviño’s stepfather, said yesterday. “They know something’s going on. Right now, it’s unclear. Everything’s hushed.”
Yesterday, attorney Ricardo Navarro, assigned by the Texas Municipal League to represent the city, declined to disclose whether the internal affairs investigation had been completed.
But John Blaylock, an attorney representing Treviño’s family said Navarro told him the investigation was finished.
Navarro said interim Police Chief Fred Bell is expected to decide today whether to discipline officers based on the investigation’s findings.
However, Bell’s decision will not be made public unless an officer’s appeal goes before the Civil Service Commission, Navarro said.
“I can tell you that the contents of the IA Investigation will not generally be made public,” he said. “They only become public if the chief decides to file a disciplinary suspension case and the affected officer appeals before the Civil Service Commission and an evidentiary hearing is held. Only under those circumstances would the contents of the IA become public.”
April Flores believes the public is entitled to know whether officers followed policy and procedure during the events leading to her son’s shooting.
“They took my son’s life,” she said. “I have the right to know whether they were following their own policies and procedures. Just because they have a badge, we still have to expect transparency and accountability. They are individuals who are sworn to protect and serve. If they are not abiding by that, they need another career.”
Blaylock said the investigation’s findings could bolster the Treviño family’s case if it files a lawsuit against the city.
“The results of the IA investigation and the subsequent actions of the city may have an impact on a jury’s decision at some point in the future,” he said.
The investigation
Navarro has described the internal affairs investigation as “standard procedure” following such incidents as shootings involving police officers.
In late March, city officials hired Bruce Mills, a former Austin Police Department assistant chief, and Mary Hesalroad, a former Austin police sergeant, to lead the police department’s internal affairs investigation into officers involved in Treviño’s shooting, including Galvan, Manuel Alvarez, Victor Espitia, Oscar Lara, David Rebolledo and Jose Santos.
Meanwhile, officials appointed Bell, whose background includes work in law enforcement, to serve as interim police chief after reassigning Galvan to assistant chief.
Galvan was removed as police chief because his involvement in the shooting prevented him from overseeing the investigation, Navarro said before the reassignment.
Galvan, a 19-year department veteran who served as chief for more than two years, “agreed to step down as police chief so that an interim chief may be appointed to oversee the internal affairs investigation,” a city press release has stated.
Texas Ranger probe
Meanwhile, officials await the findings of a Texas Rangers criminal investigation expected to determine whether officers were justified in using deadly force to shoot Treviño, who was unarmed when he was repeatedly shot after a car chase ended in El Ranchito.
Blaylock said Cameron County District Attorney’s officials told him the Texas Rangers were working on computer renderings to determine who fired the shot or shots that killed Treviño.
“They’re waiting on some results and it will be completed soon,” he said.
While the Texas Rangers investigate whether officers were justified in using deadly force, the internal affairs probe focused on whether they violated the police department’s policies and procedures.
What happened
At about 3 p.m. Dec. 7, Treviño drove away from a San Benito church after his cousin called for an ambulance because he had taken too many Tylenol pills.
April Flores describes her son as a San Benito High School special education student “with the heart of a child.”
After graduating in 2014, he was studying mechanics at Texas State Technical College, she said.
About a half hour before the shooting, Treviño used his cell phone to record the events leading up to the shooting.
When he saw police following him, Treviño began recording the 12-minute chase down Interstate 69 and onto U.S. 281, where he led about eight law enforcement units to El Ranchito.
As police pursued Treviño’s car, Art Flores was calling dispatchers to tell them police were chasing his stepson.
The Texas Rangers are also investigating whether officers fired at Treviño’s car during the pursuit from San Benito to El Ranchito, where he led law enforcement units to a cul-de-sac off Ranch Park Road.
The Texas Rangers’ preliminary investigation found Treviño used his car as a weapon.
Treviño’s video appears to show him parking his car.
Moments later, the video shows Treviño, who was unarmed, sitting in his car amid a barrage of gunfire at about 3:30 p.m.
Previous Coverage
San Benito closing shooting probe; Questions loom over City Hall
Outsiders to probe fatal shooting; Focus on policy, procedure in Ricardo Treviño’s death
City appoints interim chief; Internal Affairs investigation to look at officers
