Democrat House candidate Johnny Garcia, running in one of the country's most veteran-heavy districts, served as the Public Information Officer for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office as the agency endured numerous scandals.
One case in which Garcia served as the agency spokesman was the death of retired Sgt. Damian Daniels. Daniels was a decorated Afghanistan combat veteran who medically retired and was declared 100 percent disabled. On August 25, 2020, deputies with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office shot him twice in the chest on his own porch during a mental health check that his brother, who was also an Army sergeant, had requested. Additionally, Daniels called 911 himself, requesting help getting to a hospital.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office did not release bodycam footage from the shooting until 16 months after the shooting had occurred. Despite promising transparency, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office petitioned the Office of the Attorney General to block the video's release. The agency released the video overlaid with commentary from Garcia.
When the Daniels family was finally able to see the video, their attorney claimed that agency officials had made "material misrepresentations" and "lied to a veteran family,” and called for resignations. The video of the incident was released only after a grand jury declined to indict the deputies involved. The agency later paid a $1.25 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit.
A second incident occurred when Derrick Ellison, who was honorably discharged from the Air Force, died in the Bexar County jail in December 2022 after six months on a $1,500 trespassing bond. A medical examination revealed that Ellison had suffered a large facial wound, fractured ribs, and eventually died from sepsis. A lawsuit from Ellison’s family members claims that he was denied care while in custody, while agency officials originally claimed that Ellison had died from a “medical episode.” The case survived a motion to dismiss and is ongoing.
These incidents precede an encounter between Garcia and a concerned veteran in Texas’s 35th District, where Garcia was incapable of answering a challenge on veterans’ issues.
Garcia has been embroiled in numerous scandals recently. On October 17, Fox News reported that the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office had suspended Garcia twice without pay.
In 2009, Garcia was suspended for three days for insubordination after he brought his cell phone into a secure jail area despite repeated orders not to do so. In 2020 Garcia was suspended for five days for negligence. Garcia is said to have left his agency-issued Glock, four loaded magazines, and his badge in his personal vehicle overnight. The vehicle's contents were stolen. Agency officials claimed that the “negligent behavior has seriously impaired your [Garcia’s] effectiveness.”
Garcia will hope to take down Republican Air Force veteran Carlos De La Cruz for control of the hotly contested seat. Early voting is already underway in Texas.