Incident: Michael Garza, an 10-year SAPD veteran once hailed as a top undercover officer, was involved in a fatal on-duty shooting in July 2012. Garza had been drinking alcohol while on duty and was not truthful with investigators afterward
. The shooting occurred outside the victim Alfred Aragon’s home after a complicated domestic dispute scenario. An internal inquiry found Garza violated multiple policies the night he shot and killed the man
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Outcome: Chief William McManus indefinitely suspended (fired) Garza in 2012 for the deadly incident and associated misconduct. In June 2015, however, a third-party arbitrator reversed the firing – giving Garza his job back by reducing the penalty to a 15-day suspension (time served)
. City officials were dismayed; then-City Manager Sheryl Sculley said she was “appalled” at the reinstatement, citing Garza’s on-duty drinking, dishonesty, and deadly actions
. Garza returned to SAPD but carried the stigma of the incident; his case became a prominent example of the arbitration system’s power to overturn police firings
. (No criminal charges were filed in the shooting, but the city reluctantly reinstated him in compliance with the arbitrator’s ruling.)
[Return to blog post](https://watchaudits.com/sapd-officer-shoots-someone-while-drinking-on-duty-and-getts-rehired/)
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