Texas Police Officer Who Gave Feces Sandwich to Homeless Man Got Fired Again

A Texas police officer, who is fighting to get his job back after admitting to giving a homeless man a feces sandwich, was not allowed to return to the force.

The first time he was fired was from the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) after he gave a homeless man a feces sandwich filled with dog poop. According to VICE, Matthew Luckhurst was fired from the SAPD in 2020 after committing some offensive acts he considered "pranks."

He was then hired by another police department in Texas as a Floresville Police Department reserve officer in late 2020 and remained employed in the department until last week.

Floresville Mayor Cissy Gonzales-Dippel said her office received numerous calls, messages, and emails from residents demanding Luckhurst be fired.

The Texas police officer's employment gained attention after a story was published highlighting his employment as an example of why Texas needs statewide accountability rules for the practice of hiring new police officers.

The Floresville Police Department said it was unaware of the incidents in San Antonio. In a statement, the police department noted that as far as they knew, Luckhurst had been discharged from his former employer under the equivalent of an "honorable discharge."

Texas Police Officer's Feces Sandwich

Matthew Luckhurst was first terminated after the SAPD's investigation determined that he inserted feces between slices of bread and gave it to a homeless man downtown while on duty.

He was also given a second indefinite suspension after another investigation revealed that he failed to flush feces in a toilet in the women's bathroom and spread a brown, tapioca-like substance on the seat and wall at downtown bike patrol headquarters. Luckhurst won his appeal for the feces sandwich report in 2019.

However, the arbitrator on Friday assigned to the toilet incident appeal felt that the SAPD chief was justified in terminating him because of the shocking nature of his conduct aimed at women. Thus, he will not return to the police force.

City Manager Erik Walsh noted that Luckhurst has no "business wearing an SAPD uniform," and it should not be hard to fire him. SAPD Chief William McManus said it was a disgrace to the department and the badge.

McManus added that it was embarrassing that someone would do something like what Luckhurst did. The department decided to release him from employment after several calls, emails, and messages against the officer.

Testimony Against Matthew Luckhurst

Matthew Luckhurst said he understood that he went too far but was "never meant to be interpreted as harassing."

He also admitted to taking a picture of what he did with his cellphone, showing it to several male officers on duty, and said that two specific female officers were targets of the so-called prank.

Several officers also testified that Luckhurst bragged about the incident. Officer Jessica Medrano spoke Monday about the event, saying she was the first officer to see the prank.

Medrano testified that she found a toilet full of feces and a brown yogurt-like substance smeared on the seat to make it look like feces.

Luckhurst's lawyer argued that the female officers and the SAPD command did not address the matter in the appropriate amount of time to lead to the police officer's indefinite suspension.

Medrano argued that when one makes a complaint, they get some retaliation of some sort, especially females.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Former SAPD Officer at Center of Feces Sandwich Controversy Let Go From Reserve Role in Floresville - From KEN 5: Your San Antonio News Source