by Dillon Collier / KENS 5
CASTLE HILLS -- The Castle Hills Police
Department suspended its second-in-command Thursday, nearly a month after he
was involved in a fatal officer-involved shooting 15 miles outside of Castle
Hills jurisdiction.
Capt. John Siemens was suspended for
three days for violating the department's code of conduct pertaining to on-duty
activities.
Siemens left work Nov. 20 after receiving
a frantic phone call from his brother, who lives in the 9400 block of Rue de
Bois.
His brother's neighbor, 46-year-old
Andrew Beard, was firing several weapons in his backyard.
Beard had refused to leave the same
home several weeks earlier, prompting an hours-long standoff situation with San
Antonio Police.
Investigators said Siemens evacuated at
least one family from the neighborhood, then fell in with SAPD officers who
were approaching Beard in a front yard.
Beard was eventually shot after firing
on officers, but he then attempted to get up and fire at them again.
Siemens, armed with a long rifle, then
shot and killed Beard, investigators said.
Police on the scene originally said
Siemens was off duty and visiting a relative in the area.
But a KENS 5 I-Team investigation
revealed Siemens was on duty and out of Castle Hills jurisdiction when the
shooting happened.
Castle Hills Police Chief Wayne Davis
praised Siemens in November for possibly saving lives at the scene, but he
acknowledged Siemens would likely be suspended.
Siemens joined the Castle Hills Police
Department earlier this year after spending more than 10 years with the Boerne
and Universal City police departments.