City of San Antonio Still Awaiting Ruling on Fate of Fired Shit-Sandwich Cop Matthew Luckhurst

A protester at a recent San Antonio anti-police brutality demonstration holds up a sign showing fired officer Matthew Luckhurst's photograph. - James Dobbins
James Dobbins
A protester at a recent San Antonio anti-police brutality demonstration holds up a sign showing fired officer Matthew Luckhurst's photograph.
An arbitrator's decision whether to uphold the second firing of a San Antonio cop once terminated for giving a sandwich filled with dog feces to a homeless man is now stretching into its fourth month.

City officials have not received a ruling from the third-party arbitrator assigned to officer Matthew Luckhurst's second termination from the San Antonio Police Department, spokeswoman Roxanne Olivarri confirmed this week. She added that there's no timetable for its arrival.

When a hearing on Luckhurst's second firing concluded in late February, the city said it expected a ruling in 30 to 45 days. That firing was over another feces-related incident Luckhurst intended as a prank on female officers.

The bicycle patrolman made international headlines in March of 2019 when he won an appeal of his first dismissal over a 2016 incident in which he left a sandwich containing dog shit for a homeless man. San Antonio's police union contract guarantees all terminated officers an appeal in front of a third-party arbitrator.

click to enlarge Matthew Luckhurst - San Antonio Police Department
San Antonio Police Department
Matthew Luckhurst
Luckhurst eventually won his job back for that charge on a technicality. However, he was on leave at the time because he'd been fired again in 2017 for a separate incident in which he's accused of leaving an un-flushed turd in the women's locker room and smearing a brown substance over the toilet seat after a female officer asked that the restroom be kept clean.

During arbitration testimony on the second disciplinary action, Police Chief William McManus said Luckhurst's "vile and disgusting" behavior showed he didn't belong on the force.

Luckhurst, dubbed "America's Shittiest Cop" by Reason Magazine, has become a source of outrage for protesters demanding police reforms. Several marchers at San Antonio's recent George Floyd demonstrations have carried signs emblazoned with the officer's photo.

Stay on top of San Antonio news and views. Sign up for our Weekly Headlines Newsletter.

KEEP SA CURRENT!

Since 1986, the SA Current has served as the free, independent voice of San Antonio, and we want to keep it that way.

Becoming an SA Current Supporter for as little as $5 a month allows us to continue offering readers access to our coverage of local news, food, nightlife, events, and culture with no paywalls.

Join today to keep San Antonio Current.

Scroll to read more San Antonio News articles

Sanford Nowlin

Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current.

Join SA Current Newsletters

Subscribe now to get the latest news delivered right to your inbox.