U.S. News

San Antonio Police Veteran Arrested for Assaulting a Family Member

By Mike Harper · May 20, 2026

A 15-year veteran of the San Antonio Police Department was arrested Tuesday on a charge of assault causing bodily injury to a family member, placed on administrative duty pending an internal investigation, and became the fourth officer in the SAPD structure to be arrested in 2026.

Officer Juan Garza, a 15-year veteran assigned to the Northeast substation, was arrested Tuesday by the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office following a domestic incident. The circumstances of the arrest have not been fully disclosed in the SAPD’s public statement, but the charge — assault causing bodily injury to a family member — is a Class A misdemeanor in Texas, carrying a potential sentence of up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000 for a first offense. Visible injuries to the victim were documented by responding deputies.

Garza has been placed on administrative duty, meaning he retains his employment and pay but cannot perform regular law enforcement functions while the internal affairs investigation proceeds. San Antonio Police Chief William McManus acknowledged the arrest in a brief department statement, noting that the investigation was ongoing and that SAPD “holds its officers to the highest standards of professional and personal conduct.”

The arrest comes just weeks after San Antonio Park Police Officer Rolando Lopez Jr. was arrested on the same charge — assault causing bodily injury to a family member — following a domestic incident in late April. Lopez, a Park Police officer with eight years of service, was the third officer arrest in the city this year when it happened. Garza is now the fourth.

Two officer arrests involving the same domestic violence charge in the same city within weeks of each other raises a pattern question that the department has not yet addressed publicly. San Antonio’s civilian police oversight body, the Independent Police Oversight Board, has jurisdiction to review officer conduct investigations and make recommendations to the chief and city manager. Whether it will open a formal inquiry into the pattern of domestic assault arrests is not yet known.

For the 45+ suburban homeowner who watches local news and cares about who is policing their community, the answer to that question matters. The charge of assault causing bodily injury to a family member is the same charge that brought both officers to court. Neither is a repeat offender with a public record. Both wore a badge.