El Paso was rocked this week when five officers from its police department were arrested Wednesday night.
The five were taken into custody on July 12 for three separate cases involving a hit-and-run cover-up, domestic violence, and sexual assault.
El Paso’s Special Traffic Investigations Unit pursued the hit-and-run allegations, and the city’s Special Investigations Unit handed the criminal domestic violence and sexual assault charges.
All of the officers were off duty when the alleged crimes occurred, police said in separate news releases.
“The El Paso Police Department takes all misconduct allegations seriously and will work diligently to investigate all claims against its personnel. The department remains committed to upholding the highest standards of professionalism and integrity in performing its duties,” the department said in a statement.
Three officers were arrested for the March 2022 hit-and-run incident: Isaac Menchaca, Enrique David Mendoza, and Aaron Poblano.
An investigation determined Menchaca purportedly struck two vehicles and fled the scene. Poblano and Mendoza allegedly arrived after the fact and assisted Menchaca with leaving, officials said in a press release.
In a separate case, Officer Joshua Anthony Gallardo was accused of allegedly trying to strangle a 28-year-old woman on July 9, 2023, according to a press release.
Gallardo and the woman had just left a bar when officials say Gallardo purportedly started to hit and choke the victim. Bystanders restrained Gallardo until officers showed up.
In the third incident, Officer Guadalupe Sosa, a 15-year veteran of the force, was arrested for sexual assault dating back to 2018. Police say they have begun the process of firing Sosa, who has been relieved of duty and placed on administrative leave for the remainder of the termination process, per a press release.
The arrests come at a time when El Paso is struggling to fill open police positions. Only 23 recruits enrolled in the police department’s most recent cadet academy, according to KFOX14 El Paso. The department has had trouble since the 1970s in filling open positions.
“Society has kind of had a negative impact on our recruiting because people don’t want to deal with what we deal with, and it is tough, having people curse at you and say negative things about you. To us on the PD itself, it just kind of runs off our back, like water off a duck’s back,” Officer Damien George told KFOX14.
