San Antonio police officer assaults security officer after crashing into him and fleeing
San Antonio TX July 17 2021 A Texas police officer is accused of crashing into another car while intoxicated, fleeing the scene, and then assaulting the victim who chased after him.
Officer Dezi Rios, who was off duty and has been with the San Antonio Police Department for 14 years, was charged with driving while intoxicated and failing to stop to give information, following the July crash, court records show.
Police said assault charges could also be brought against Rios, 39, pending further investigation.
According to police documents obtained by McClatchy News, Rios rear-ended 61-year-old Ara Halibian at a red light around 9:45 p.m. on July 5. Rios then maneuvered his vehicle around Halibian’s car and fled the scene.
Halibian followed, documents say, chasing after Rios until the officer hit a curb, popping his front right tire, forcing him to stop.
Halibian got out of his car to confront Rios, asking him why he didn’t stop to trade information. He also tried to take Rios’ keys to prevent him from running away again, the police report said.
Rios reacted by punching him in the face “several times,” according to witnesses who called 911.
Halibian, who works as a security guard, was on the way home from work when Rios crashed into him, he told KENS.
He recounted the alleged beating he took, guessing Rios hit him somewhere between 20 to 25 times, and was “punched, kicked, thrown on the floor … you name it.”
Halibian lost a tooth, suffered a broken nose and fractured eye socket, he told the TV station.
When officers arrived and spoke to Rios, he initially denied that there had been a car accident.
