By Ciara O'Rourke
American-Statesman Staff
A Lago Vista detective who was
arrested last month after a co-worker said the officer kicked him in the back
has been fired, according to the Lago Vista Police Department.
Lawrence Michael Jonap, 45, was
charged on Jan. 30 with assault by causing bodily injury, a class A misdemeanor
that carries a sentence of up to a year in jail.
Police officials confirmed
Jonap had been fired, but would not answer further questions about the
termination on Friday, including when or why the detective was let go.
Jonap’s co-worker, a
dispatcher, said he was making coffee at the Lago Vista Police Department and
talking to an officer on Dec. 10 when he was kicked in the back, causing his
body to “lunge forward,” according to the affidavit. When he turned around, he
saw Jonap standing behind him and laughing, the affidavit says.
The next day, the document
says, Jonap hit the communications operator on the head with a notebook,
flicked his ear and then “farted” in his face.
A reserve officer told a Travis
County sheriff’s deputy that she saw Jonap “tap ” the other operator with a
folder and then later shake his chair, saying, “How’s your back?” before
grabbing his hat and throwing it on a desk.
The reserve officer also told
the deputy she saw Jonap “pass gas” in front of the other operator’s face.
Jonap admitted to the deputy
that he had physical contact with the operator, according to the affidavit, but
he said he just “nudged” him with his foot.
According to court documents,
Jonap has worked for the Lago Vista Police Department for 14 years.
A docket shows that he has a
court date set in the assault case later this month.
