SAN ANTONIO – Two San Antonio police officers were suspended for violating the department’s pursuit policy, according to records.
Officer Colton Richter was suspended for five days, and Officer Lorenzo Vela is serving a 15-day suspension for a February 2024 chase.
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Records show Vela tried to pull over a black BMW in the 3300 block of West Poplar Street. Vela believed the car’s paper plates had been tampered with.
Richter got behind Vela to cover him, but the black car took off as Vela got out of his car. Both officers began to follow.
Records state the black car sped off, drove the wrong way against oncoming traffic, and ran through a red light.
According to the suspension records, Richter pursued the car against department policy and without a supervisor’s permission. Richter intermittently used his emergency lights, drove his unit against wrong-way traffic, and drove more than 30 miles over the speed limit.
The suspect ended up crashing at SW 29th Street and Randall Avenue, and police said he ran away.
Vela chased after the suspect and caught him. Body camera video captured Vela using “unnecessary verbal abuse” with the suspect.
Records show that Richter muted his body camera when they caught the suspect, and Vela muted his body camera before the call was over.
Richter and Vela are both three-year veterans of SAPD, records show.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.