A story that first made headlines nearly a decade ago has taken a new turn, and not a quieter one. A former San Antonio police officer who was terminated following a deeply disturbing incident involving a homeless man and a tampered sandwich has been appointed police chief of a small South Texas city. The appointment is drawing renewed scrutiny from the public and press alike, and the department’s response has done little to cool things down.

Matthew Luckhurst, who spent five years with the San Antonio Police Department before his termination, officially began serving as Benavides Police Chief on June 1, according to records from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. The city of Benavides sits roughly 150 miles south of San Antonio and has a population of around 1,100 people. It is, by any measure, a small town. But small towns can generate very large headlines.

The incident at the center of Luckhurst’s history dates to May 2016. A report showed Luckhurst bragged to a fellow officer that he had picked up some feces, placed it in a slice of bread, and put it in a Styrofoam container next to a homeless man. He was a bike patrol officer assigned to downtown San Antonio at the time. Although Luckhurst avoided being fired over the first incident on a technicality, SAPD terminated him in 2020 over a second poop-related incident.

Luckhurst was approved for the promotion during an April 30 city council meeting and will be paid $28 an hour, according to council records. When reporters from KSAT reached out to confirm the details, the Benavides city secretary hung up on journalists multiple times rather than provide what is considered basic public information. That response, or lack of one, has only added fuel to an already lit fire.

A Career That Refused to Stay Buried

Luckhurst’s post-SAPD employment history is its own story. Following his firing, Luckhurst found work with the Floresville Police Department in 2022, but was let go after a wave of public backlash over reporting on his rehiring. Rather than stepping away from law enforcement entirely, he quietly landed with the Benavides Police Department in April 2023, where he has served as one of only two officers on the force.

Prior to his promotion, Luckhurst earned a School-Based Law Enforcement Officer license in April 2024, indicating he has been working in close proximity to the public throughout his time in Benavides. The department’s previous chief defended the hire, stating that a thorough background check was conducted and that Luckhurst’s record since joining had been clean with no complaints filed.

What the Department Has Said

The Benavides Police Department has leaned on a second-chance narrative since Luckhurst’s initial hiring became public earlier this year. The department stated that Luckhurst has consistently maintained the allegations made against him during his time with SAPD are untrue, and that an arbitrator ruled in favor of reinstating his employment at some point following his termination. That arbitration ruling is a relevant legal detail, though it did not result in his return to San Antonio.

The department framed the original hire as a reflection of its commitment to giving individuals an opportunity to demonstrate their value in public service. Whether that framing holds up under the weight of a promotion to the top job is a question now being asked publicly and loudly.

The Arbitration Question and What It Means

The mention of an arbitration ruling in Luckhurst’s favor introduces a layer of complexity that tends to get lost in the broader story. Police unions in Texas, as in most states, have strong contractual protections that allow officers to challenge terminations through arbitration. It is not uncommon for arbitrators to reinstate officers even when the underlying conduct is not in serious dispute. The ruling does not necessarily mean the incident did not happen. It means the process played out as the system allows.

That distinction matters for anyone trying to evaluate this situation fairly. Luckhurst denied the allegations. An arbitrator found grounds to reinstate him. He was never rehired by SAPD. He has since worked in two other departments, one of which let him go under public pressure.

Now He Runs the Department

The Benavides Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment following news of the promotion. The silence is notable given that the department was vocal in defending the original hire just months ago. Luckhurst now holds the top law enforcement position in a town of over a thousand residents, overseeing what amounts to a two-officer department in a rural stretch of South Texas.

Whether the residents of Benavides were aware of their new chief’s history before the council vote is unclear. What is clear is that the story is not going away, and the department’s apparent reluctance to engage with press is unlikely to help matters.

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