SAN ANTONIO – We have new video of a 2024 arrest now at the center of a civil rights lawsuit.<\/p>\n
Officers arrested three sons of former Bexar County Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela.<\/p>\n
Officers arrested three sons of former Bexar County Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela. She watched as officers hauled them away .<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
She watched as officers hauled them away and, in an exclusive interview, she said her sons are owed an apology.<\/p>\n
Anthony, Michael and Carlos Barrientes Vela are calling for a trial, and more training for San Antonio first responders. Their mother said she’s still trying to wrap her head around how the situation escalated so quickly.<\/p>\n
The cellphone video shows two of her sons in handcuffs, one of them falls to the ground<\/p>\n
“Mom he’s throwing me on the ground,” he said. “I’m recording.. I’m recording him,” Michelle responded.<\/p>\n
The video shows the moments before the brothers were taken into custody in April of 2024. It doesn’t show what leads up to it.<\/p>\n
“Just a 9-1-1 call for a medical call,” Michelle said. “One of my sons’ girlfriends had a medical episode and they were just wanting emergency care like anybody else.”<\/p>\n
It ended with Carlos, Michael and Anthony’s arrests.<\/p>\n
According to the SAPD incident report, Michael tried riding in the ambulance with his girlfriend but wasn’t allowed to because of his “actions and attitude”. A fight reportedly started when officers tried to stop him. Michael was also tazed by officers.<\/p>\n
Each of them was charged with assault of a peace officer and interfering with public duties. Now they’re taking the issue to court, filing a lawsuit last year; it claims their civil rights were violated.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit also alleges unlawful search and seizure, unlawful entry, and excessive force on the part of San Antonio police.<\/p>\n
“It was pretty intense,” Michelle said. Her name is not attached to the lawsuit, though she witnessed the entire interaction. “It was just a medical episode a minute ago. How did we get in seconds to this?”<\/p>\n
Her sons are suing the City of San Antonio, SAPD and the San Antonio Fire Department (SAFD) \u2014 claiming SAFD made a “false and misleading report” of a “violent bystander” on the property during the call.<\/p>\n
“My boys don’t.. wanna speak right now because they’re in the legal matters and I respect that,” Michelle said. “But as their mother and as someone that was there and someone that’s been trained in excessive force, de-escalation…there’s so many things that went wrong.”<\/p>\n
The Barrientes Vela brothers are representing themselves in court and are seeking damages for physical, emotional and psychological injuries.<\/p>\n