San Antonio police officer suspended for skipping work to play in basketball tourney

A San Antonio police officer was suspended last month on accusations that he called in sick so he could play in the police union’s annual basketball tournament, according to disciplinary records obtained by the Current.

Paperwork shows that San Antonio Police Department Officer John Paul McDonald, a four-year veteran, called in sick on July 22. However, his superiors conducted a check at the tournament that afternoon.

“Officer McDonald was at the tournament and was actively playing basketball and clearly not sick,” the records state.

SAPD issued McDonald a three-day suspension for violating department rules prohibiting officers from faking illness or injury to get out of work, according to the report. He served the suspension Sept. 19-21.

The disciplinary records don’t say how well McDonald performed at the tournament.

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This article appears in Oct 4-17, 2023.