San Antonio: Councilman Pelaez Issues Statement On Recent Arrest Of Jogger In District 8

Press release from the City of San Antonio:

September 1, 2020

SAN ANTONIO— In regard to the recent arrest of Mathius Ometu in District 8, Councilman Pelaez issued the following statement:

“I watched the complete body camera video of the stop and the arrest. It is not up for debate that these officers were investigating a family violence case and justifiably believed that Mr. Ometu may be their suspect given a matching description.

The officers knew that the man for whom they were searching had a warrant for his arrest for robbery. In light of those facts, this was a legitimate stop and a legitimate detaining. Our officers asked reasonable questions and explained the facts giving rise to his detention. It is unfortunate that Mr. Ometu did not cooperate with this domestic violence response.

Our city council, at the community’s insistence, has prioritized the investigation and prosecution of domestic violence perpetrators. To have ignored the indications that the person in custody was the likely subject of their investigation would have been a violation of the expectations we’ve set out for SAPD.

I recognize that in today’s climate there is added scrutiny and concern where biases may play a role in police interactions and I take these incidents very seriously. However, in this case, these officers did their jobs. In the face of this difficult situation, they behaved like the professionals we expect them to be.

Lastly, I applaud our District Attorney, Joe Gonzalez, for dropping these charges at the request of the police officers.”

This press release was produced by the City of San Antonio. The views expressed here are the author’s own.