An off-duty Judson Independent School District police officer is recovering after accidentally shooting himself at his Northeast Side home early Friday, authorities said. The 67-year-old was handling his service weapon when it went off, hitting the lower part of his body. He was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation.
San Antonio police were called out on a “shooting in progress” at about 5:04 a.m. on March 13 near the corner of Saldana Street and Espinosa Street, according to WOAI. The station reports officers identified the injured man as an off-duty Judson ISD officer and classified the wound as accidental. Authorities told WOAI there are no criminal elements involved. The case remains under investigation and officials emphasize that the details released so far are preliminary.
School district police on patrol
District police officers do not stay glued to campus borders. Their patrols regularly extend into surrounding neighborhoods and they can respond to off-campus incidents that may affect student safety. The San Antonio Report notes that local school district forces are on duty around the clock. For example, SAISD police patrol more than 80 campuses and serve about 44,000 students, and they can act as the primary responder for certain situations. That kind of reach helps explain why an early-morning call on the Northeast Side drew multiple agencies to a private home.
Investigation and oversight
Under San Antonio Police Department rules, any officer-involved shooting, including an apparent accidental discharge, must be reviewed by the department’s Shooting Team “regardless of the officer’s duty status,” according to SAPD procedure 705. The policy spells out requirements for securing the scene, coordinating witness interviews and involving Internal Affairs, and it instructs any officer who fires a weapon to immediately notify a supervisor. Those guidelines will shape how investigators piece together what happened in this case…