SAN ANTONIO \u2013 Bexar County prosecutors on Wednesday dismissed a felony tampering with records case against a fired San Antonio Police Department lieutenant.<\/p>\n
Steven Velasquez, 56, was indicted last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Investigators accused Velasquez of accessing SAPD\u2019s internal affairs computer program and removing himself as an \u201cinvolved employee\u201d the night Melissa Perez was shot and killed by officers<\/a> in June 2023.<\/p>\n Velasquez was indefinitely suspended by SAPD in late 2023<\/a>, after an internal affairs investigation determined he and a sergeant left their assigned shifts early the night Perez was shot and killed inside her Southwest Side apartment.<\/p>\n The investigation determined Velasquez left work around 10:14 p.m., more than four hours before his shift was scheduled to end.<\/p>\n Velasquez failed to respond to the fatal police shooting scene, despite being the highest-ranking member assigned to the south patrol service area, his discipline paperwork states.<\/p>\n Velasquez received a second indefinite suspension in May 2024<\/a> after internal affairs investigators determined he altered internal affairs files related to the shooting case.<\/p>\n In late November 2023, Velasquez was forwarded an administrative review report instructing him to issue a chief of police disciplinary decision to an officer under the then-lieutenant\u2019s command, records show.<\/p>\n The following day, Velasquez accessed the entry and \u201cmade unauthorized alterations and modifications\u201d to it, discipline records show.<\/p>\n The modifications included Velasquez removing his name and the name of another supervisor from the entry altogether, records show.<\/p>\n The removal of their names deleted any record of their involvement in the internal affairs case, according to records.<\/p>\n Additionally, Velasquez modified the roles of one citizen, nine other officers, SAPD administration as well as improperly updating \u201csnapshot data\u201d of six officers in the entry, SAPD records show.<\/p>\n Velasquez was handed a third indefinite suspension in January, following the felony indictment<\/a>.<\/p>\n Velasquez\u2019s attorney, Ben Sifuentes, previously told KSAT his client was innocent and that the evidence would show Velasquez had not committed an offense.<\/p>\n Sifuentes confirmed Wednesday the case was dismissed due to insufficient evidence and that Velasquez intends to push for reinstatement to SAPD. <\/p>\n Officials with the Bexar County District Attorney\u2019s Office did not respond to an email seeking comment on Velasquez\u2019s dismissal Wednesday.<\/p>\n Three officers charged in the fatal shooting of Perez were found not guilty<\/a> by a jury last November.<\/p>\n