A Mission officer
accused of excessive force and facing indefinite suspension once received
commendations for his accomplishments with the U.S. Air Force.
On Sept. 13, Omar
Diaz De Villegas, 29, was handed a letter from Interim Chief Robert Dominguez
stating Diaz de Villegas was indefinitely suspended after an investigation into
an incident in April. In the letter Dominguez states he has affidavits from
officers who saw Diaz De Villegas hit a suspect on the head with his service
weapon and then throw him in the back of a police vehicle.
Diaz de Villegas was
born in Mission and joined the Air Force in 2005. He worked primarily as a
security forces journeyman through 2009, according to documents in his
personnel file.
In May 2007, he
received an Air Force Commendation Medal for his achievements for transporting
prisoners from August 2006 through February 2007 as part of the 455th
Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron in Afghanistan.
“His security
measures ensured the safe and secure transport of captured enemy combatants to
an internment facility,” states a portion of the commendation, signed by Lt.
Gen. Gary North of the U.S. Air Force.
Diaz De Villegas also
received an Air Force Achievement Medal in June 2009 after serving in Kuwait
with the 49th Mission Support Group. The recognition states during that time
Diaz De Villegas was the first on the scene when an individual had alcohol
poisoning.
“His quick response and decisive actions ensured the timely arrival of medical personnel, preventing further injury and loss of life,” the certificate states.
“His quick response and decisive actions ensured the timely arrival of medical personnel, preventing further injury and loss of life,” the certificate states.
He earned an
associate degree in criminal justice through the Community College of the Air
Force and was honorably discharged in 2009. Diaz De Villegas joined Mission PD
in March 2011.
According to
Dominguez’s letter, one Friday morning in April, Palmview Police Department
called on Mission PD to assist officers in a car chase involving a stolen
vehicle. Diaz De Villegas had to take evasive maneuvers, pulling off to the
side of the road, after the car sped southbound on Inspiration Road off Griffin
Parkway.
The officer turned
around and joined the pursuit, the letter states. After another officer
deployed an “interceptor spike stick,” deflating one of the stolen vehicle’s
tires. The driver kept going, losing pieces of the tire along the way. By
Veterans Memorial Cemetery, the vehicle was driven onto a dirt path and hit a drainage
ditch.
The driver tried to
run and was caught by two officers. Diaz De Villegas arrested the passenger,
later identified as Omar Pina. Diaz De Villegas requested an ambulance because
Pina’s head was bleeding, the letter states. Then, the officer took Pina to the
Palmview Police Department.
Later, a lieutenant
with Palmview PD called Mission PD and reported that Pina claimed the arresting
officer used excessive force, intentionally hitting Pina on the head with the
officer’s service weapon. According to the letter, a Palmview officer said he
saw Diaz De Villegas hit Pina twice on the head with his service weapon.
Another officer said he saw Diaz De Villegas lift Pina into the air while he
was handcuffed by grabbing his arm and his crotch and throw him into the back
of a patrol unit, according to Dominguez’s letter. One officer told Diaz de
Villegas to put Pina down, but he did not, the letter states. It adds that
video from patrol units at the scene back up their accounts.
“It is obvious that
you were angry and not following appropriate professional police practices in
securing and treating a prisoner,” the letter states.
Diaz De Villegas was
put on suspension with pay April 19 while an investigation was conducted. The
department received affidavits from other officers at the scene as well as from
Pina on July 10 stating he was filing a formal complaint. On top of hitting
Pina on the head with his gun, Pina added that Diaz de Villegas grabbed his
genitalia and said, “This is what you get,” the letter states.
On July 17, Diaz De
Villegas was interviewed. According to the letter, Diaz De Villegas said Pina
was resisting arrest, moving his hands and looking back at the officer. It
states Diaz De Villegas said he didn’t know if Pina had a weapon and he wanted to
“Ki….(stutter).”
Diaz De Villegas also
said he may have hit Pina on the head unintentionally when trying to turn him
over and Pina was kicking his feet, according to the letter. It adds Diaz De
Villegas said he picked Pina up by the bicep and inner thigh (possibly touching
Pina’s genitals) because he did not want to give Pina a chance to headbutt or
kick anyone.
Diaz De Villegas has
the right to appeal the suspension under civil service law.