SAN ANTONIO – An airman is suing the City of San Antonio after she says San Antonio police officers pulled her over and unnecessarily held her at gunpoint, according to a lawsuit obtained by KSAT Investigates.
Joi Hebron, who has served in the Air Force for more than 19 years, said the fear that she felt in July 2024 has stuck with her.
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“I thought then and now my life was in danger,” she told KSAT Investigates.
Hebron spent more than a year in San Antonio. She said that she was selected to be a military training instructor at Lackland Air Force Base.
Around 4:30 am on July 15, 2024, court records show that Hebron left her Northwest Side home to head to the base. She was wearing her Air Force physical training uniform.
“I was spotted leaving the area and I was followed by (an) SAPD officer for what to me felt like a lifetime,” said Hebron.
Within minutes, records show that officers pulled Hebron over near Loop 410 and Babcock Road, despite noting that she drove at normal speeds and followed traffic.
“There were three police car lights that came on behind me,” recalled Hebron. “And of course, I’m shook.”
“Do you have any clue as to why you were pulled over?” asked KSAT’s Daniela Ibarra.
“Daniela, not one, not a clue,” Hebron responded.
Records show that officers ordered Hebron to get out of her truck at gunpoint and then handcuffed her. Officers questioned Hebron about who owned the truck and what was in it.
KSAT Investigates filed a records request to obtain a copy of the footage from the stop. The City of San Antonio has requested that the attorney general’s office allow it to be withheld, as Hebron is suing.
Hebron is seeking damages from the City of San Antonio, which includes lost income and attorney fees.
“This is not an enemy,” said Hebron. “I’m not a terrorist. I’m on U.S. soil. I had on my Air Force PT gear, which had an Air Force emblem on the back of my shirt. Never were the guns lowered.”
Hebron said that she thought the military and law enforcement were “always on the same team.”
An incident report shows SAPD officer Robert Garcia ran Hebron’s license plate near La Cantera, which came back as stolen. Garcia wrote in the report that he pulled her over once other officers could come and help.
Once Hebron was in handcuffs, records show that Garcia realized he had incorrectly entered her license plate and released her.
“This woman could have been killed if she had done anything other than what they asked her to do,” said Hebron’s attorney, Markes Kirkwood.
Kirkwood believes the stop should never have happened.
“Ms. Hebron was stopped because she was a black woman in a predominantly white neighborhood in a nice-looking truck, and she was stopped for no reason,” said Kirkwood.
KSAT Investigates reached out to SAPD for an interview. They did not make anyone available, but provided a statement.
“At this point, there is no indication that the SAPD stop was anything other than human error and not prompted by racial profiling or discrimination. We regret that the person was detained briefly before the error was corrected.”
Hebron is still serving in the Air Force, but is now stationed in another state. She said the trauma from the stop led her to give up her position at Lackland Air Force Base.
“On eight deployments, I was never diagnosed with PTSD, not on one deployment, but after this traumatic incident, I was,” she said. “My life will never ever be the same. This is something I have to carry on forever.”
The lawsuit, which claims the stop was unconstitutional, is still undergoing the legal process, although the City of San Antonio has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.
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