The Amarillo Police Department actively investigated the actions of multiple officers to see whether policy infractions had occurred at an incident that occurred on August 24, 2014, in which a civilian fired a gun at police officers. At the same time, a detective was assigned to investigate whether criminal charges should be filed against that civilian. During the criminal investigation, the detective uncovered activity which indicated possible criminal actions by former Police Officer Saulo Bravo in his handling of evidence and records in this case. Efforts were made to separate the two investigations to avoid any potential legal issues. However, despite those efforts, the District Attorney found the case did appear to commingle the two types of information. Out of respect for the District Attorney’s determination, the Chief of Police has appointed a team of police and legal staff to review its policies and procedures to insure that this perception of commingling does not reoccur.
The Amarillo Police Department terminated Saulo Bravo for violations of policy independent of the indictment. Thus, the termination is not affected by the District Attorney’s dismissal of the criminal charges. Mr. Bravo has appealed his termination, which the Department will continue to defend.
