Police Arrest Sheriff's Deputy After Bizarre Chase

DONNA, TX – A deputy with the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and driving while intoxicated Monday night.

According to the Donna Police Department, on Mar. 15, officers with the DPD were dispatched to Lissner Avenue for the report of a reckless driver. The caller told dispatch that a truck was driving on rims and that the airbags looked as if it was deployed.

Officers found the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado and pulled the pickup over. The officers noted that the truck was heavily damaged.  

The driver of the vehicle identified himself as Roberto Roel Rivera, 44, from Palmhurst. Police then found out that Rivera was a deputy for the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office and that the truck was owned and issued by the HCSO.

Officers on scene could tell that the Rivera was intoxicated and he was detained for driving while intoxicated. After searching the vehicle, officers found multiple prescriptions including Alprazolam that had been purchased in Mexico. 

This isn't the first time the deputy had been in trouble with the law. According to the Progress Times, in Jan. 2003 Rivera was charged with driving while intoxicated.

"On 01-29-03, I was a passenger in a motor vehicle involved in an accident in Edinburg, TX,” Rivera wrote on his application to the HCSO. “The driver fled and I was arrested. Charges were dismissed and the subsequent arrest is in the process of expungement.”

Also in July 2019 Rivera was arrested for assaulting a peace officer after his girlfriend called Palmhurst Police Department to remove Rivera during a drunken altercating at her home.

During the altercation Rivera, who had been drinking, dared the officers to arrest him and called one a “dumbass.”

It is unclear at this time Rivera's current status at the HCSO.