Tamara Vaughan, 18
A San Antonio police detective was charged Monday night with aggravated assault, resisting arrest and evading arrest.
Posted on 08/05/2007 12:38:45 PM PDT by Daffynition
SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio police have opened an internal affairs investigation into the behavior of a veteran officer accused of using a racial slur and beating a lesbian woman who asked him to put out his cigar at a community pool.
Tamara Vaughan, 18, said her jaw was pushed in and she still cannot open it far after an attack by Detective Keith Alfaro, 35, who was off-duty.
Vaughan was hospitalized. She has bruises on her arm that she says are from Alfaro and estimates he hit her 25 times, including putting his forearm on her throat and choking her.
Alfaro was arrested last week and charged with aggravated assault and evading and resisting arrest.
Ed Shaughnessy, an attorney for Alfaro, said the case is pending before a grand jury and that Alfaro has not been formally indicted.
“Hopefully he won’t be,” Shaughnessy said. He added that his client maintains his innocence but would not elaborate.
The July 22 incident happened at the pool at the housing subdivision where Vaughan lives with her grandmother, aunt and uncle and cousins.
According to a written statement signed by Vaughan, she was at the pool with four cousins when the smoke from Alfaro’s cigar began to bother her. When she asked Alfaro, who was on the phone, to put it out, they got into a verbal fight.
Vaughan’s statement said Alfaro then used the N-word against Vaughan, who is black, and made comments about Vaughan’s appearance, saying “You wanna look like a man, I’m gonna treat you like a man.”
Vaughan said she was wearing swimming trunks and a T-shirt at the pool. Vaughan, who is a lesbian, said Tuesday, July 31, she believes Alfaro was attacking her sexual orientation.
Alfaro then allegedly hit Vaughan, who fell to the ground. She said he continued to hit her and then laid on top of her, placing his arm across her neck to choke her. After he stopped, she said she tried to get up but that he then started hitting her again.
During the altercation, Vaughan said her 15-year-old cousin jumped on Alfaro’s back to pull him off of her. Afterward, Vaughan’s cousin was yelling at Alfaro, who allegedly responded, “I don’t speak ghetto. I don’t understand Ebonics. Speak English.”
The incident is being investigated by Bexar County, since it happened outside city limits.
Alfaro’s has been placed on administrative duty during the police internal affairs investigation, police Sgt. Gabe Trevino said.
Vaughan and her father met with San Antonio Police Chief William McManus Tuesday, but said they won’t be satisfied until Alfaro is off the force. “The officer at the end of the day got paid for beating me,” Vaughan said. “I would love for him to be suspended. Fired. Something. But suspended for right now would be fine.”
Fair enough. I hope justice is done, whether it is conviction an a abusive, racist off-duty cop, or civil suit for making a false accuasation against the black girl.
I will wait and see if and indictment is handed down.
Hell, I’m still trying to figure out from another story here why lesbians are kept in a stable and why do they need a maid? Most of the lesbians I see around here look like they could whip my butt, so I can guarantee that I’d never take the first swing.
I read an article in a SA newspaper earlier indicating this is the 4th time he’s been suspended. It also said he was suspended without pay.
Is she a lesbian because she wasn’t wearing a bra, because he thought so, or because she said so, or just because she is 18 and can be anything she wants?
The article says he called her * (formerly known as the N-word)but it doesn’t say he called her a lesbian, rather it says, looking like a man.
If looking like a man is all it takes then I had all men teachers in high school.
I don’t imagine she can talk all that well with her jaw pushed in the way it is.
This is the stupidist one I’ve heard in a while. Sheesh
Got him convicted already on the basis of a news story, eh? Hope they don’t pick you for the jury.
I would agree that this story needs more details. However, if you strip away occupation, race and sexual preference, is it OK for a man to hit a woman?
I'm with the "perp" on this one.
Depends on who throws the first punch
A San Antonio police detective was charged Monday night with aggravated assault, resisting arrest and evading arrest.
I don’t know about Texas, but around the public/community pools I have been, smoking is not allowed.
So if I talk with a lisp, or a French accent, I can get punched in the mouth for making a reasonable request?
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