Austin Police Department's Chief of Police, Art Acevedo, has yet again fired Officer Leonardo Quintana. Quintana lost his job earlier this year after he was arrested for drunk driving.
Many people may also recall the highly controversial officer involved shooting death of a Nathaniel Sanders, who was killed in an alleged altercation with Quintana in which the two were reportedly wrestling over a firearm that Nathaniel Sanders possessed. In that event I may mention that Quintana's dash cam recorded nothing of that incident because Officer Quintana did not activate his patrol car camera. This was a highly publicized issue that had the local media buzzing for months. It has been a while since the media frenzy finally lost steam and fell out of the front pages of the papers, but guess what? Officer Quintana is making headlines again.
Not a week after Quintana was reinstated back into uniform; Acevedo once again fired him for altercations involving another police officer. That other officer had been romantically involved with Quintana. After the statements from Lori Noriega, it appears as though Quintana committed assault and battery one night against her.
With Quintana’s character becoming less and less creditable why was he given his job as a police officer back in the first place? I think he should have never been put back on the force to begin with. Driving while intoxicated is a horrible thing, and I’d expect an officer who knows the dangers of drunk driving and has first handedly had to deal with the damaging effects they cause would have enough thought not to be as carelessly irresponsible. I understand that the police department is made up of non-perfect human beings, but many of them do not need to be representing the law, let alone carrying the power that they possess by the badge. I also know that there are many outstanding individuals among those serving in APD, but you’re only as good as your weakest link. How many weak links does APD have?
I read a post on my classmates blog page, Texas State of Mind, about a police officer who sounds like he is abusing the law. He has been fired from the Austin Police Force twice and is now on trail for his DWI he received after he shot and killed a teenager May 2008. The stream of bad luck has portrayed the former cop, Leonardo Quintana as a nasty old crooked cop who uses his authority of the badge to get away with whatever he wants. A police officer should be the one who upholds the law and makes everyone around him or her feel safe, that they themselves would never dream of breaking the laws they are bound to serve. I have heard, and read so many emails about how you can call someone now if you feel that you are being pulled over at night by a person who might harm you. What has this world come to, cops are suppose to be the good guys. Yet, so much power and authority can sometimes be to much for some to handle.
ReplyDeleteI believe that this mans justice will come in due time, but we must also remember that he is just human. And, maybe he was never cut out for this job, or the responsibilities of protecting the innocent and keeping his life in order all at the same time. The news media has a way of making their readers lean in whatever way they feel will get the most attention and this is a juicy story for everyone.