Accused SAPD officer received previous complaints from TCRP
by Chris Sadeghi / KENS5
A formal complaint was filed in August against the San Antonio officer now accused of rape.
Rebecca Flores says Office Craig Nash was on the scene of a downtown assault which members of her family witnessed back in June 2009. In a formal complaint heard at the August 8th city council meeting, it is alleged Nash was rude towards witnesses and threatened to arrest a man who was trying to be of assistance to the victim.
After the complaint was heard, Flores says there was a meeting with the assistant city manager and police administrators in which they assured her the matter would be investigated.
Nash never received disciplinary action and that is disturbing to Flores.
“We had a chance to do something about that guy,” she said. “We did what we could and we still could not stop him from doing what he did to that young person.”
TCRP PRESS RELEASE
SAN ANTONIO COP IN RAPE CASE HAD BEEN SUBJECT OF TCRP COMPLAINT LAST YEAR TO CITY COUNCIL AND POLICE CHIEF FOR ABUSIVE BEHAVIOR
OFFICIALS TOOK NO ACTION
TCRP Director Jim Harrington says that Officer Craig Nash, accused of raping a handcuffed man in his custody, was the subject of an internal affairs complaint TCRP had filed on July 14, 2009, regarding Nash’s abusive behavior toward four people who had intervened to help a woman being brutally beaten in downtown San Antonio in the early morning of June 28, 2009. Nash arrived after they called 911.
Three of the interveners, along with Rebecca Flores, also witness to Nash’s abusive conduct, and Harrington all appeared at City Council on August 8, 2009, to complain about Nash’s conduct and demand that he be disciplined. The four interveners on June 28 were a TCRP attorney, a teacher, a union organizer, and a firefighter. (Posted below, see Harrington’s statement to the San Antonio City Council and the written TCRP complaint to SAPD Internal Affairs.)
They had complained that Nash did not take steps to apprehend the man who was assaulting the woman, callously mishandled the situation with regard to the assault victim, and did not try to find her a safe place. That had to be done by people of the scene.
They also said Nash was rude and insolent to everyone on the scene, and threatened to handcuff and arrest one of the interveners, a TCRP domestic violence attorney, who was offering advice to Nash about how to comfort the victim and get information from her about finding and arresting the assailant. Nash’s abrasive and threatening actions were counterproductive.
They also met on August 8 with Police Chief McManus and Assistant City Manager Erik Walsh, both of whom apologized for Nash’s conduct, according to Harrington.
Despite this, no disciplinary action was taken against Nash and neither McManus nor Walsh informed TCRP or the witnesses of the outcome of the complaint.
In November 2009, Nash was also accused of verbally abusing two preachers in front of a San Antonio gay bar, before arresting them. The charges were dropped when the preachers’ attorneys complained to authorities about Nash’s behavior.
Harrington said that this was a perfect example of what happens when city and police officials do not pay attention to complaints from the citizens. The officer’s abusive behavior conduct continues as before, gets worse, and, at some point, he victimizes someone.
“There is an alarming amount of verbal abuse in SAPD toward citizens, and either the city and police officials don’t care about it or they are incapable of dealing with it. Either way, it puts innocent citizens at risk and undermines effective law enforcement,” said Harrington.
“Contrary to what McManus said, this is not ‘a bad apple’ situation. Nash is the product of an abusive culture in SAPD for which McManus and the City have taken little responsibility to change,” said Harrington.
“Because the City Manager, the Police Chief, the Mayor, and the City Council had been put on notice about Nash and did nothing, they all share blame for Nash’s brutal rape of the handcuffed victim,” said Harrington.
SAPD cop accused in rape of man
By Peter J. Holley – Express-News
A San Antonio police officer was arrested Thursday night after a transgendered man accused him of rape while the officer was on duty, authorities said.
Officer Craig Nash, 39, has been charged with sexual assault and official oppression. Bail was set at $27,500. He was released from Bexar County Jail after posting a bond. Police said Nash does not have a history of disciplinary action. He is the second San Antonio police officer arrested this year.
Last month, Bandera County deputies arrested Joe Angel Serrato, 36, on a charge of driving under the influence.
“This is a slap in the face to every good police officer, every command officer, to the public and to the victim,” said Police Chief William McManus, who was visibly frustrated as he announced Nash’s arrest Friday morning. “This is about as hard a slap in the face as you could possibly get.”
McManus said the incident wasn’t reflective of the department’s culture but was instead the result of a single officer’s bad behavior.
Nash, a seven-year police veteran, is accused of picking up the alleged victim shortly after 3 a.m. at Guadalupe and Zarzamora streets on the city’s West Side, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
While police identified the alleged victim as transgendered, a spokeswoman could not confirm if the complainant had undergone male-to-female sex reassignment.
The complainant, who authorities say is a prostitute, told police that Nash handcuffed him in the back of a marked patrol car before taking the him to an unknown location and forcing him to engage in multiple sexual acts, the affidavit states. Nash reportedly was wearing his police uniform at the time.
The man told police that after the assault occurred, the suspect dropped off the victim at a nearby school on Guadalupe Street.
The affidavit states that the alleged victim then took a bus to a police substation to report the incident, telling officers Nash “wasn’t going to get away with this.”
The affidavit states the complainant was able to pick Nash out of a police lineup and that police used a Global Positioning System to confirm that Nash’s vehicle was in the area at the time of the alleged incident.
Nash has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of an investigation.
“We will not for a second tolerate this or make any excuses on behalf of anyone who is found guilty of misconduct in this department,” McManus said.
At least 10 officers were effectively fired in 2009 from the department on allegations ranging from sexual assaults to indecent exposure to witness tampering. The amount represents more than twice the number of officers placed on indefinite suspension in 2008.
TCRP STATEMENT TO SAN ANTONIO CITY COUNCIL AND MAYOR
AUGUST 8, 2009
My name is Jim Harrington, and I Director of the Texas Civil Rights Project, a statewide nonprofit foundation that promotes civil rights and economic and racial justice throughout Texas.
Domestic violence issues is one of the main focuses of our work, which is why I am here. I am also here because of the way my son was treated. He is also the head of our domestic violence program, and was nearly arrested because he was trying to counsel Officer Nash about the appropriate way to handle the situation, and Nash did not like it.
Two questions: If Officer Nash acted the way that he did with a lawyer, a teacher, a banker, a union organizer, and a city firefighter, how does he act on regular basis with other people? Does his conduct – not consoling the victim, not trying to find the perpetrator, not getting the victim to a shelter – does this reflect systemic training and procedures within the Department.
The answer to the second question, from what I have been able to learn so far, is “yes.” I know, for example, that many officers resist domestic violence training, do not embrace it, and minimize it. I have every reason to believe that Chief McManus is in the right place on this, but he needs the strong support of the Council and the city administration.
This is just one of the serious challenges facing San Antonio, as last year’s PERF report underlined. And San Antonio needs to address this problem.
Make no mistake about it. This issue is a priority with us, and we will not hesitate for a moment to use federal litigation to accomplish our goals, if need be. You are now on notice.
Not only is the proper handling of domestic violence cases the right thing to do, and the humane thing to do, but it also required by the Victims Rights Amendment to the Bill of Rights in the Texas Constitution and by statute.
These both reflect Texas values and Texas rights, and that is our effort and purpose before you here today.
Thank you
TCRP Written Complaint to the Internal Affairs Unit of the San Antonio Police Department
July 14, 2009
Re: COMPLAINT AGAINST OFFICER NASH (Patrol Car #7023 C)
Domestic Violence Incident near Frost Bank (28 June 2009 @ 2:15am)
Enclosed please find four sworn affidavits, complaining of Officer Nash (Patrol Car #7023 C) and how he handled – actually, severely mishandled — a brutal domestic violence incident near Frost Bank on June 28, 2009 @ 2:15am.
There are three important points:
1. First, Nash did not take any steps to apprehend the perpetrator of this terrible abuse regarding which the people who now complain against him had sought police assistance.
2. Officer Nash callously mishandled the situation with regard to the victim of the assault and did not seek to find her a safe place. That had to be done by people of the scene.
3. Officer Nash not only was rude and insolent to everyone on the scene, but even threatened to handcuff and arrest one of our domestic violence attorneys on the scene who was offering advice to the officer about how to comfort her and get information from her about finding and arresting the assailant. The officer’s abrasive and threatening actions were counterproductive.
We intend to appear at City Council on this matter because it reflects not only on Nash’s unacceptable conduct, for which he should be disciplined, but it reflects very badly on how SAPD handles domestic violence situations.
If you have any questions, please let me know. Please jeep me apprised of your steps in this complaint.
Sincerely,
James C. Harrington
Cc: Mayor Julián Castro
March 20, 2010 by webmin
