Cop Watch: FBI Investigating the Bexar County Sheriff’s Dept – San Antonio Probe Growing for Past 2 Years

Today, the San Antonio Express News is reporting that for the past 2 years, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been quietly investigating the activities of the Bexar County Sheriff’s Department — a law enforcement agency whose jurisdiction includes San Antonio, Texas, and the surrounding area.  Apparently, the FBI has been snooping around there, down by the Alamo, for 2 years now and there’s no signs they’re stopping.

Looks like this may be a big deal….

Not only does the time involved in this FBI probe alone suggest that a lot of bad stuff has been discovered by the Feds, the media reports are suggesting it.  The Express-News points to deputies living a lot larger than their county salaries would allow, with groups going on vacation to Las Vegas and the discovery of one deputy’s large land purchase (bet it’s a ranch) down in the Valley.

FBI Initially Looking Into One Thing, Discoveries Kept Coming According to Express-News Reports

Careful to reference several sources for their news reports – since the FBI won’t comment on an ongoing investigation – the Express News reveals that the FBI began checking into complaints about civil rights violations, and things grew from there.   According to the sources, there are lots of complaints about the BCSD narcotics division — particularly, a group of 4 -5 “rogue cops” who are arresting folk without cause, stealing money and property, etc.

They may be doing bad things both on the job and off — there aren’t a lot of details yet. It is reported that deputies who are working second jobs as security guards at local apartment complexes have shaken down the tenants there.  Wow.  There are also complaints off-duty deputies have used threats that are backed by the fact that work for the Sheriff’s Dept. and that they’ve used excessive forces.

Who All Knows and Looks the Other Way Regarding the Rouge Cops?

Apparently, there are also FBI feelers checking out who all may know about these rouges within the department but are not coming forward to stop the wrongdoing.    FBI agents are even going so far as to interview criminal defense attorneys practicing in the criminal courtrooms of the Bexar County Courthouse to see what they may know about these bad actors.

Looks Like the Pot is About to Boil Over ….

According to the Express-News, several Bexar County Sheriff’s Department deputies have already hired criminal defense lawyers to represent them — and we all know, you don’t start paying for a criminal lawyer until things are pretty far along.

This looks to be a major story that is just breaking today — hats off to Guillermo Contreras of the San Antonio Express News along with Staff Writer Eva Ruth Moravec for their work here.