Laredo, TX : Cop involved in alleged DWI crash was laughing afterward on April, Wednesday 5th 2017
The mother of the teenage girl whose Jeep was allegedly rammed into by a Laredo police officer is speaking out.
Melissa Barragan said the brand new $30,000 Jeep Wrangler, which Jose Velasco allegedly struck, belongs to her teenage daughter. Velasco, a 12-year veteran police officer, was arrested on DWI charges Wednesday after allegedly failing to control his speed and hitting the Jeep with a black Ford Mustang, according to LPD.
Police officers were dispatched to the incident at 2:07 a.m. Wednesday in the 400 block of St. Croix Drive in north Laredo. Velasco, who was off-duty, allegedly fled the scene after the crash, but returned on his own accord.The Mustang rested a few feet away from the house of Barragan, whose daughter called 911. Barragan said she found it odd that several marked units responded to the crash given that it was a hit-and-run case.
A neighbor told her that a man had run into a nearby house. When she told officers at the scene what the neighbor had witnessed, the cops did nothing, Barragan said.
"Something was not right," she said.
About 30 minutes later, a man walked to the crash site. He was allegedly talking and laughing with three other officers. Then, two other officers approached Barragan and asked her if she was going to file charges.
"I wondered why the police were so interested in knowing if I was going to press charges," Barragan said.Later, she found out that the man was an LPD officer. Barragan pointed out that Velasco was not arrested, but he himself got into the back of the unit.
"We didn't know he was a cop," Barragan said. "... The suspect was standing there visiting with his friends."
"If he would've been any civilian, they would've handcuffed him and sat him on the curb."
LPD said Barragan is welcomed to report allegations of unprofessional behavior to the Office of Public Integrity.
"This is not an attempt to humiliate anybody or their family," Barragan said. "What people need to understand is the humiliation we faced last night when everybody knew this was a cop, and they were protecting him."
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Cop involved in alleged DWI crash was laughing afterward