Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Officer Gabriel Villarreal Suspended for Using City Computer to Obtain Woman's Personal Information

A San Antonio police officer accused of using a city computer to glean a woman's personal information and then staging an emergency response to her house has been fired after an investigation revealed he boasted about other women on his patrol car terminal and pulled their personal data as well, according to Police Department records.

After 14 years on the force with no suspensions, Officer Gabriel Villarreal, 43, was indefinitely suspended last week, a punishment tantamount to being fired.

A second patrolman, 10-year veteran Officer Keith Floyd, 41, was found to have exchanged "crude, suggestive (and) disparaging" remarks about women with Villarreal via his patrol car terminal and was suspended Friday for 15 days without pay, police records state.

Assistant City Attorney Robert Reyna said another officer faces a possible 30-day suspension in connection with the same case.

The violations involve at least seven women and occurred through October, November and December 2009, according to the city's findings, which allege the following:

For "personal" reasons, Villarreal researched the criminal history of an apartment manager in his patrol district. In conversations via car terminals, Villarreal and another officer referred to the woman by "nicknames for her breasts."

Villarreal and another officer also held an "extended" electronic conversation about two other women in which "a comment is passed back and forth about whether (Villarreal) 'knocked' or 'knocked it out,' referring to sex."

A few days later, Villarreal ran the registration of a Mercedes-Benz owned by another woman and sent it to a fellow officer. The pair then discussed her "personal physical attributes, her breasts and her attractiveness."

From the registration information, Villarreal then pulled more of that woman's personal data, including calls for police service to her home address, her social security number and her municipal court files.

The same day, Villarreal ran the registration of a Lexus that belonged to another woman; he earlier had suggested to a fellow officer they "go knock" at her residence.

A few days later, Villarreal's car terminal conversations focused on a female San Antonio police officer, whom he suggested should be invited to a "clothing optional" shift party.

The following week, Villarreal brought his wife and daughter to The Art of Shaving, an upscale boutique at The Shops at La Cantera that sells $1,000 razors.

A female employee there sold him nearly $400 in shaving supplies, she told the San Antonio Express-News.

The next day, Villarreal used his patrol car terminal to determine her address, date of birth and cell phone number. Called to assist the public, Villarreal handled that call quickly, left the scene within four minutes and drove to the woman's house while holding the initial call open, according to the city's findings.

Rousing the woman from bed, Villarreal rang the doorbell and told her that someone had called 911 and hung up. He eventually left and drove to another location, where he conducted research on her prior residences and her father, the city alleges.

Over the next two days, Villarreal pulled her cell phone history and calls for police service to her home. Meanwhile, the woman reported the incident to the Police Department's internal affairs department.

The next day, Villarreal and another officer allegedly discussed via patrol car terminals where they should eat lunch, at one point making "inappropriate sexual references" about female officers, police records state.

Villarreal was indefinitely suspended without pay last Monday.