Sergeant draws suspension

A San Antonio police sergeant's attempt to intervene in his nephew’s drunken driving arrest resulted in a monthlong suspension, according to disciplinary records.

Sgt. Robert Martinez “used his position as a sergeant with the San Antonio Police Department to enter the scene of an active traffic investigation” conducted by Selma police officers in the early hours of Sept. 13 in the 14800 block of Interstate 35 North, according to the document.

According to the Selma Police Department's report, Martinez “coached” his nephew, telling him to go to the hospital. When the officers asked Martinez to walk away, he “became agitated and began recording” his conversation with the officers, according to the police report.

In the suspension document, San Antonio's police administration said Martinez recording his encounter with the police “was perceived as an effort to intimidate the Selma officers.”

Martinez followed his nephew to the hospital and arrived there still irate, officials said. A nurse said “Martinez's tone grew ugly and that he got loud with Selma officers,” the suspension document said.

Selma police “believed Sergeant Martinez was interfering with the investigation by directing his (relative's) actions and his disruptive attitude while at the hospital.”

Martinez defended himself in the suspension document and wrote that he denied the charges.

His suspension begins Jan. 22 and end on Feb. 20, the document said.