The San Antonio Police Department suspended one of his officers for 45 days over accusations he repeatedly made “unsolicited on- and off-duty visits” to a woman’s home during an eight-month stretch last year, disciplinary records show.
Officer Anthony S. Aldaco neglected his duties, violated department rules and failed to use sound judgment as he repeatedly visited or came close to the residence of the woman, whom he met March 16, 2024, after she called police during a mental-health crisis, according to those records.
The woman brought Aldaco’s visits to the attention of SAPD Internal Affairs when she filed a formal complaint last November, police documents state.
After the woman’s discharge last March from a local mental-health hospital, Aldaco paid at least two unannounced visits to “check up on her,” both within a month of her release, according to department records. He was on duty at the time, SAPD officials allege, and had “no apparent police purpose” for the contact.
On May 17, 2024, Aldaco appeared at the woman’s residence again, this time while off duty, according to disciplinary files. He reportedly offered to drive her to pick up food and take her back home.
However, after going through a McDonald’s drive-thru, Aldaco took her to Palo Alto Terrace Park, where he stopped, locked the doors and took off his seatbelt, making the woman feel “uncomfortable,” records state. The woman devised a plan to escape the vehicle, according to documents.
“[I] was very nervous, I was very uncomfortable and I was very scared,” the woman told investigators in a video-recorded statement cited in SAPD records.
Although Aldaco didn’t touch the woman during the encounter, he did move closer as if “attempting to lean in for a kiss,” according to disciplinary documents. After she showed no interest in reciprocating, the officer drove her back home, records also show.
Following that incident, Aldaco made another off-duty visit to the woman’s residence Nov. 4, SAPD records state. At that point, he reportedly spoke to her father and asked if she was home.
During their investigation of the complaint, SAPD officials used the electronic gear in Aldaco’s patrol vehicle to identify 16 times he was at or near the woman’s residence from March through November of last year and “didn’t immediately return to service” after finishing official calls, according to disciplinary records.
Further, documents show investigators found five instances during that same stretch of time when Aldaco failed to switch on his vehicle’s video recorder at the start of a call, as required under department policy.
In February, SAPD officials served Aldaco with a “contemplated indefinite suspension,” tantamount to a firing, disciplinary records show. However, after the officer was allowed to rebut the accusations, Chief William McManus reduced his punishment to a 45-day suspension.
Aldaco’s suspension began March 28 and will continue through May 11, records show.
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This article appears in Apr 2-15, 2025.
