The San Marcos Police Department placed an officer who arrested a San Antonio father and his son during a traffic stop on March 14 on administrative leave.
The arresting officer, Jaciel Cortina, was placed on leave effective April 10, with any further action depending on the outcome of an internal investigation, according to a statement from the city of San Marcos.
SMPD was responding to a report about a missing 15-year-old girl who was seen with an older man in a pickup truck that matched the description of Gerardo Reyes’ and his 17-year-old son Esteban Reyes’ vehicle. Officers later confirmed the missing girl was still at home and no crime was committed.
Gerardo Reyes and Esteban Reyes were charged with interfering with an officer’s duty after refusing to exit the vehicle. Esteban Reyes was later released, and Gerardo Reyes was then transferred into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody at the T. Don Hutto Detention Center in Taylor, Texas.
Family members and immigrant advocacy groups, like Mano Amiga, Caldwell and Hays Education Fund and many others, call for Gerardo Reyes’ release from ICE custody and for accountability from SMPD through protests on April 2 and April 10.
Gerardo Reyes’ wife, Sanjuana Escalante, said the family is struggling financially and emotionally without her husband and is about to lose their house in San Antonio.
“I depend on my husband emotionally, physically, [and on] stability because I really can’t stand for very long. I’m paralyzed,” Escalante said.
Escalante said she can’t get a job to help provide for her family due to her disability.
“It has shattered our family in pieces because I have little ones that we also have to [support] and now I can’t [support] my little ones because my husband’s not there to help us out,” Escalante said.
Guadalupe “Lupe” Sarinana, Gerardo Reyes’ daughter, said the family has been video calling Gerardo Reyes when they can and spent Easter over the phone with him.
“Truth should never be overshadowed by assumptions,” Sarinana said. “I also want to address something specifically said in the affidavit of Jaciel Cortina. The document claims that my father repeatedly told officers that they would not be taking my brother, Esteban Reyes, out of the vehicle. If you see that full 10-minute video, that statement does not appear to match what was actually said.”
According to a statement from the city in an email to The Star, Cortina, the arresting officer, learned Gerardo Reyes was subject to an immigration detainer issued by ICE after he was booked. The arresting officer was not aware of the detainer while on scene.
