Background: The San Antonio Police Department Station (Google Maps). Inset: Cassidy Costa (LinkedIn).
Two Texas police officers are out of a job after an investigation into an alleged domestic violence incident while they were dating.
According to local ABC affiliate KSAT, Cassidy Costa, whose age was not provided, was fired from the San Antonio Police Department after she was put on indefinite suspension on April 30. KSAT stated that according to police records, Costa — a three-year veteran of the force — lost her job due to rules violations and showing a lack of good character. Costa was accused of assaulting another former SAPD officer, Patrick Earles, who reportedly told another unnamed colleague in the SAPD what Costa did. The SAPD said Costa”s conduct was “detrimental to effective law enforcement and the needs of the San Antonio Police Department.”
However, Earles was interviewed by the SAPD’s Special Victims Unit and gave them a conflicting story.
Records obtained by KENS, a local CBS affiliate, stated that the SAPD was first notified of a “family violence incident” involving Costa and Earles after a third, unnamed officer received texts from Earles about what happened. According to the records, Earles wrote to the other officer, “You know how stupid it is that I had to go to work and lie about how I got a black eye?” Referring to Costa, he told the other officer, “Cuz she busted my eye open.”
According to the records, Earles told the other officer that Costa “sometimes shoves her hands in my mouth and pulls down in my lip from between my lip and gums [too] so I can stop talking.”
When Earles was questioned about the alleged physical abuse during his interview with the SVU, he downplayed the altercations he had with Costa. According to records related to his own suspension that KENS obtained, he said the fights were “nothing physical” and “just a lot of arguing.”
He reportedly said that he was “not sure how it got reported like that.”
After the interview, Earles reportedly told his colleague, “Well, I can’t tell SVU the truth.” He also expressed concern for what reporting the assaults would do to Costa’s career. KENS reported that according to the records, the colleague urged Earles to be honest, to which he replied, “No, I can’t do that.”
Earles was placed on indefinite suspension on April 10.
KSAT obtained a letter filed on behalf of Costa stating that she is appealing her firing, saying that Earles recanted his claims of assault up to 30 times. The letter also reportedly stated that if the SAPD believed that an assault took place, then Earles would have committed perjury.
Criminal charges have not been filed against either Costa or Earles.
