Lawsuit Exposes San Angelo Police Department’s Dirty Laundry

SAN ANGELO, TX — A federal lawsuit filed by a longtime San Angelo police officer alleges the department has quietly handled a series of serious misconduct cases involving some officers while publicly and aggressively pursuing him over a misdemeanor failure-to-report charge.

The complaint, filed by Officer Rodrigo Hernandez, a 100% service-connected disabled veteran, claims the San Angelo Police Department treated him far more harshly than other officers involved in equal or more serious incidents — including stolen department firearms later recovered at the Mexican border, excessive force, domestic disturbances, and an alleged improper relationship with a high school student. Hernandez contends these cases were managed with little or no public scrutiny, while his own case was the subject of a department press conference, an arrest, and the suspension of his peace officer license.

All of the following accounts are allegations contained in Hernandez’s lawsuit. The City of San Angelo has denied the claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.

According to the complaint, department-issued firearms were taken or stolen from SAPD facilities around May 2024 — conduct described as a state-jail felony at minimum. Some of the weapons were later recovered at the U.S.–Mexico border being trafficked into Mexico, prompting a federal investigation. Lt. Brian Robinson was investigated and cleared by the Texas Rangers; when Chief Travis Griffith attempted to suspend him, Robinson retired instead. Officer Josh Loudermilk was suspended indefinitely for selling the weapons at a gun show. Officer Charles “Blue” Flores was only briefly suspended, returned to work, was later promoted to sergeant, and currently serves as president of the local police officers’ association. None of these officers was criminally charged or arrested, and none was the subject of a press conference, the lawsuit states.

The complaint further alleges that the Internal Affairs sergeant assigned to Hernandez’s own investigation was involved in a domestic disturbance in a neighboring county in March or April 2025. The incident was allegedly suppressed by the department. There was no suspension, no charges, no arrest, and no press conference. The sergeant remains employed by SAPD, according to the filing.

In another case cited in the lawsuit, Officer J. Gann was accused around June 2025 of striking a handcuffed female secured in the rear of his patrol unit. He was removed from patrol but offered approximately four months of remedial retraining. He was ultimately terminated only after refusing to concede wrongdoing. After the termination, Chief Griffith reportedly went through department divisions and briefings expressing his desire to retain Gann.

An SRO officer, J. Montana, was investigated in early March 2025 for an alleged improper relationship with a high school student. He was cleared of charges, was not arrested, and was permitted to resign quietly, the complaint states.

Detective Zack Villareal, described in the lawsuit as a non-disabled SWAT officer and personal friend of Chief Travis Griffith, was involved in a December 2025 domestic incident with his current girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend that arose, in part, over a dog. According to the complaint, Villareal went to the other man’s residence, made threats, brandished a firearm, and left the scene. He then anonymously called dispatch to report the incident. SAPD patrol officers responded, and Villareal’s involvement was later determined. The lawsuit states that the conduct, on its face, implicated criminal threats, official oppression, and criminal trespass. Despite that, no criminal charges of any kind were filed and Villareal was not arrested. Chief Griffith allegedly made the rounds of the department expressing his desire to retain Villareal. Villareal was eventually terminated quietly. There was no press conference and no public announcement. His TCOLE license was not suspended, and he was employed as a peace officer with another agency soon afterward, according to the complaint.

Hernandez alleges he is the only SAPD officer in recent memory to have been arrested arising out of an internal disciplinary investigation, the only one subjected to a department press conference publicizing the arrest, and the only one whose Texas Commission on Law Enforcement license was suspended in that manner.

The underlying criminal case against Hernandez stems from a March 26, 2025, incident. According to a May 2025 SAPD press release, a supervisor’s review of body camera footage determined that Hernandez did not meet mandated reporting standards regarding suspected child abuse. SAPD launched an internal investigation and referred the matter to the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office for a separate criminal investigation. Hernandez was arrested and charged with a Class A misdemeanor. Jury selection in the criminal case is scheduled for Sept. 14, 2026.

While that charge was pending, Hernandez filed the federal lawsuit in May 2026 under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code. He seeks damages exceeding $100,000, lost wages and benefits, compensatory damages, reinstatement or front pay, restoration of his peace officer license eligibility, and other relief. He has demanded a jury trial.

The case was originally filed in the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division. The City successfully moved to transfer it to the Northern District of Texas, San Angelo Division, where it is now pending before U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix as Case No. 6:26-cv-00257-H. On July 27, 2026, Judge Hendrix ordered the parties to confer by Aug. 10 and file a joint scheduling report by Aug. 24.

Hernandez’s personal claims

Hernandez, who has approximately 16 years with SAPD, is a veteran of both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army. The Department of Veterans Affairs has rated him 100% disabled for conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic sinusitis and rhinitis (with severe recurrent nosebleeds), fibromyalgia, degenerative disc disease, radiculopathy, reactive airway disease, and hypertension. He alleges supervisors were aware of his disabilities and ongoing VA treatment.

The lawsuit claims that beginning around 2021, senior officer Barry Ratcliffe targeted him with complaints about work performance that later escalated into disability-based harassment. Hernandez alleges Ratcliffe and another officer made workplace statements that he “is not disabled,” was “just milking the VA system,” and was “trying to get a check.” He further alleges Ratcliffe inserted himself into Hernandez’s calls to monitor and harass him, including an open-air radio broadcast that implied Hernandez was shirking duty.

According to the complaint, in 2021–2022, while Travis Griffith (now chief of police) was a patrol sergeant on Hernandez’s shift, he allegedly invited every officer on the shift except Hernandez to breakfast in an effort to gather “dirt” on him. Griffith also called every officer in one by one — again excluding Hernandez — in what Hernandez understood as an attempt to identify the “worst” employee and turn the shift against him. Griffith was later reassigned, but Hernandez alleges the hostile environment continued.

After being removed from patrol in March 2025 pending the child-abuse investigation, Hernandez claims he was assigned for about a month to clean moldy, dusty, rodent-infested evidence and bicycle storage lockers. He alleges this assignment aggravated his known disabilities and that the department failed to engage in any interactive process regarding accommodations, while other officers under investigation historically received office-type duties.

Hernandez also claims retaliation after engaging in protected activity, including using time for VA medical appointments, complaining about harassment and the hazardous assignment, and filing an EEOC charge in January 2026.

City’s response

In its answer, the City of San Angelo admits Hernandez was employed as a police officer and is a military veteran. It admits the misdemeanor charge for failing to report child abuse, that there was an investigation related to department firearms, and that Officer Gann used excessive force and was terminated.

The City denies the core allegations of discrimination, harassment, failure to accommodate, and retaliation. It asserts that Hernandez is a civil-service employee who failed to exhaust administrative remedies; that he remains on temporary suspension solely because of the child-abuse charge and that no tangible adverse employment action has been taken; that the suspension was for a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason; that he is not a qualified individual with a disability; and that he never requested a reasonable accommodation. The City also raises damages caps and constitutional limitations on any exemplary damages.

The lawsuit remains in its early stages. The allegations in the complaint are unproven, and the City has denied liability. No trial date has been set in the federal case.

Attorneys for Hernandez are Adam Poncio and Alan Braun of Poncio Law Offices in San Antonio. The City is represented by Jon Mark Hogg of San Angelo.