“Common sense is kind of blurry”

By Breyana Segura - Chief Staff Writer | October 15, 2025

Pearsall residents confront city over police action

Pearsall residents issued demands last week for immediate action and systemic reform in the city police department after a series of incidents in which officers have been accused of exhibiting a lack of knowledge and committing aggressive behavior.
Police Chief Daniel Flores, City Manager Federico Reyes, Mayor Ben Briscoe, and Councilors Ramiro Trevino, Brenda Trevino, Aurora Garza, Racheal Garza, and Sonia Hernandez heard from citizens in a contentious meeting at City Hall on Thursday, October 2.
Prior to a twenty-minute presentation of current statistics by the police chief, Briscoe reminded the public of the purpose of the meeting.
“I will tell you, we are not going to holler and scream and shout,” the mayor said. “We welcome criticism; that is what this is all about. We can always do better.”
Briscoe encouraged citizens who feel they have been violated by officers to file a complaint. He said the police chief would investigate claims.
CHIEF’S PRESENTATION
Flores, employed with the department since July 2011, expressed his gratitude for the position and told those in attendance that he takes “great pride in working here.”
The police department currently employs 22 officers – a chief, a captain, a lieutenant, two corporals, four sergeants, and 14 patrolmen.
“I have been the chief for a little over three years,” Flores said. “Currently [we] do have a couple of vacancies; it is tough to fill these. There is a great deal of competition. There are agencies in the San Antonio area that are offering $15,000 sign-on incentives.”
Flores outlined department goals that include community outreach, increasing community involvement, and events to hear public comments and concerns.

The chief also said he will examine options to reinstate the canine program and add investigators.
Flores said 90 percent of his officers are not from Pearsall, which he believes has hindered the department’s ability to know about community events.
“A lot of times we really do not hear about a lot of things,” the police chief said. “But we are going to continue to try and be involved. It has been about two years now, but we did put a pause on the canine program because there was not a whole lot of interest. I did not feel it was the right time. I feel now officers have the experience and a canine needs to be given to an officer who has a high drive to be proactive and make those traffic stops.”
Flores said his department covers 9.5 square miles of the county, which equates to one officer for every 431 residents.
In a comparison of statistics between 2024 and 2025, Flores said that although arrests, calls for service, and incidents were lower than in the previous year, there are still three months left in the year.
Flores acknowledged a difference between the numbers of citations and warnings but added his patrolmen have “done a tremendous amount of traffic stops this year.”
BUDGET CONCERNS
Local resident Reynaldo Trevino asked for a break-down in crime statistics to justify the department’s budget increase for more canines and investigators.
“It is not just 22 [officers], you have all these agencies who would come to your assistance in a crisis,” Trevino said. “In terms of officers, in terms of canines, I do not find it justifiable in saying you want more officers and canines without articulating what the threat is.”
Flores said officers hired by the department vary in experience and that some are experienced while others come straight from the academy. Each new hire, he said, must undergo the department’s field training program.
“I was part of my guys then and part of my guys now,” the police chief said. “Back then, we had to fight for our positions – I was turned down by Uvalde PD; I did not get a call back from the sheriff’s office or Zavala County; finally Dimmit County let me dip my foot in the water – as a reserve.”
LACK OF AG LAW KNOWLEDGE
Clayton Neal, a local bank president, said a recent incident raised concerns over officers being unfamiliar with agriculture laws.
Neal said his son was towing a 20-year-old shop-made cattle trailer when he was stopped by local officers in an incident that ended with the trailer being impounded.
“First, I am coming from the stance that I want to support the department and all law enforcement,” Neal said. “I want this to be a suggestion to garner some community support and tell you about an incident. This is a farm community; he was pulled over for a good cause. The trailer was missing a license plate. However, I want to encourage you all to learn the law when things are registered as far as ag equipment. Through talking with other community members, it is hard for us to support you when there does not seem to be any common sense being used.”
Neal said a shop-made trailer does not have to have a serial number, title, or license plate.
“If you try and tell me I am going to have to prove it there is not going to be a way for me to prove it,” Neal said. “I am not asking for special treatment. Just know who the residents are.”
Neal said he was not afforded the option to show he was the rightful owner of the trailer and admitted to being upset with the officer.
“There was not any common sense at that time,” Neal said of the officer’s alleged lack of knowledge of agriculture laws and unfamiliarity with the residents of Pearsall. “They impounded the trailer under suspicion of theft, but no ticket was given. The officer said I could not take the trailer, in lieu of it being impounded, because I was a flight risk.”
Local farmer Jay Lindsey cited two incidents, similar in nature, involving him and his son.
Lindsey said his son and friends were on the way home from a youth rodeo when they were allegedly threatened by an officer. Lindsey stated an officer threatened to impound the trailer and horses because the trailer did not have insurance.
Texas law does not require trailers to have insurance; the equipment is covered as an extension of the vehicle.
“Why are all these ATVs allowed to be on a public roadway and most of the time they are carrying kids?” Lindsey asked.
“You know what the problem is, 90 percent of the officers are not from here,” Rodney Lucio said. “I am not saying they are bad officers, but they are not from here.”
Briscoe said he would love to have 85 percent of officers from Pearsall.
Flores acknowledged he does not know everyone but it is something he wants to do, adding that he needs the help of the community.
INCREASES IN TRAFFIC TICKETS
Councilor Ramiro Trevino asked the officers to look at the root of why they were making the traffic stops, citing what he believes to be a number of officer-initiated stops that are “unethical.”
“I think the main concern is the unethical, in the aspects of the department, therefore we as a council receive a tremendous number of complaints that the officers have committed an unethical aspect of the thing or excessive force, “ Councilor Trevino said. “The main thing for the council is to maintain public trust – I am not saying to let everyone go and not give violations. I am going to be the first to say that our economic impact is being affected at nighttime. People are not going out in fear of crossing that white line.”
The police chief said he encourages councilors to look at both sides of the stories.
“If I told you my account of the story, would you take that for its full value or take it at face value?” Flores asked.
Councilor Aurora Garza said she believes complaints are coming from a number of people in different demographics.
Flores said 34 percent of all traffic stops have resulted in citations.
“These officers are not out to get people, they are out there to warn people and prevent collisions, to make the roadway safer,” the police chief said.
Reyes defended Flores’ stance but said he recognizes the department’s flaws and vowed to find a balance with discretion.
“By no stretch are we saying this department is perfect,” the city manager said. “Everyone has discretion, so when we start talking about these subjective matters, I do my best to try and not tell them how to do their jobs, because they should know how to do, but how they treat people, how they go about managing their work. That is something between the chief and I that we make sure that we are being professional. You alluded to talk about common sense, but when we talk about the younger generation, common sense is kind of blurry. Part of the challenge that the chief has, the police department has, and I have, is using that discretion and making sure that we are not using discretion to over- or under-police.”
LACK OF SEARCH WARRANTS
Councilor Racheal Garza asked why the sheriff’s office and state troopers are executing search warrants inside city limits.
That is a very sensitive topic,” Flores said. “The reason the county can do the additional work for search warrants is because the county has one for every 223 people that they have to police. Me and Sheriff Salinas are good; we are doing everything we can with 22 officers.”
ALLEGED TARGETING
Resident Roy Lesak distributed pictures and claimed to have been subject to 14 traffic stops within a one-year time frame.
“That is three times more than I have ever been stopped in my whole life,” Lesak said. “You know how I stopped getting stopped? I switched trucks, so you all have been targeting me this whole gosh darn time. Do not tell me, Fred, Ben, that you all do not know what is going on, because the whole City Hall is buzzing about how crazy this town is. My whole deal is about safety and keeping the city out of lawsuits and I am telling you that we are headed towards some lawsuits.”
Flores acknowledged Lesak’s traffic stops and said the man had been pulled over eight times, not 14.
“I trust Peter [Salinas, sheriff,] with my life; I do not trust these guys,” Lesak said of the police officers.
Lesak also claimed restaurant business has declined as a result of what he described as aggressive police patrolling.
Lesak later apologized for his behavior and reiterated his belief that police have hindered potential business.
Paula Manzanares, a local entrepreneur, asked the police chief about the chain of command in his absence.
“Who is in charge when the chief is absent or not available?” Manzanares asked. “Why do I have to wait for Sgt. Hernandez to come in at 8 o’clock at night to address my issue I had at 8 o’clock in the morning?”
Manzanares added that she believes the same two officers have targeted her and have stopped her vehicle on several occasions.
Flores said residents with concerns often want to speak only to the chief, but said he he has a lieutenant, sergeants, and corporals who can assist the public.
WRONG APARTMENT LEADS TO EMBARRASSMENT
Elderly resident Robert Gandara filed a complaint against the department with the city manager after he was ordered out of his home at 3 a.m. only to discover officers were at the wrong apartment.
“I heard this loud banging; I was asleep in my underwear,” Gandara said. “The cops had me step outside, lights everywhere. I was so embarrassed. They said a 911 call came from here. Come to find out, they were at the wrong apartments.”
Reyes acknowledged the officers’ misidentification of the apartment and said the incident was “an honest mistake.”
“I do not want to go into specifics, but the officers, whenever they received the call, were at Walmart,” Flores said. “They left Walmart to come straight over there, that someone called and said someone was inside your house. They are thinking it was a home invasion. They were trying to find the location, the address that was given. They were trying to find your location.”
COMPLAINTS
After asking the police chief to provide the step-by-step process an officer takes during a routine traffic stop, a local man identified as Mr. Perez alleged he was wrongfully taken into custody by a police sergeant.
“I was arrested and pulled out of the vehicle without even being given a ticket from Sgt. Parker,” Perez said in an emotional address to the police chief. “I was not given a paper until I went to jail and got processed. I went ahead and filed a complaint. I did not have any contraband or anything; I was completely clean and I still got thrown in jail. You do not ask me about my parents, my lost time, everything I have been through, just for these people to do what they do.”
Flores said he personally looks at all complaints, which he said can be time consuming, as he examines reports and watches hours’ worth of video footage.
The police chief urged those who feel like their civil rights are being violated to contact the Texas Rangers.
“I do remember a time when people complained there was not police presence,” Flores said. “We heard it. We took action. I told the guys they need to be more proactive. The hard part of that is finding the right balance.”
“They have lost the respect of the whole town,” Lesak said.
ADVICE FROM THE SHERIFF
Shortly before the public meeting ended, Councilor Garza asked the sheriff for advice on repairing the relationship with the public.
“We are here to support all agencies,” the sheriff said. “A supplemental force as needed. There are different leadership styles. Our approach is different from the city’s. I was the chief for five years; it is a difficult job. We have to change the culture of the department as it pertains to people.”
The sheriff said he believes the relationship between officers and community is adversarial.
“What you have to do is approach it as what we are, and that is your servants,” Sheriff Salinas said. “It starts with Pre-K children. Showing up to the schools is how we build trust and shows we are not just those bad guys who put handcuffs on you. It is the leadership of the department that needs to change that.”
“I disagree with that,” Chief Flores said. “We have a very non-biased approach. It does not matter if you are the mayor or you work at McDonald’s. I am going to do my best to try and please the public the best I can, but we also have a job to do. We cannot just stop doing traffic, and if we pick and choose who we are stopping I do not know if that is the right avenue.”