Shooting, Deputy Conduct Has Commissioners Questioning Constables

By ABC-7 Reporter Martin Bartlett

EL PASO — Other constables are worried that allegations of misconduct by a deputy constable will make it harder them to do their jobs.

We got a hint of that at this week’s Commissioners Court meeting when a Westside constable went before commissioners asking for money to patrol school zones; he got his money, but not before he got a barrage of questions.

“A constable is the elected official — he’s the one in charge of his paid deputies and his unpaid deputies,” Commissioner Miguel Teran warned on Monday. “When the suit comes, who do you think is going to get sued? You will as well as the commissioners court.”

District 1 Constable Robert White wanted the court to reimburse his office for radar’s put in constable cars to be used for patrols in school zones, but he spent a lot of time instead defending the way constables do their jobs — mainly executing arrest warrants and occassionally traffic patrols.

“When we see something, we’ve got to respond,” White said.

But it’s the way Deputy Constable Mario Ramos responded during a routine traffic stop over the weekend that has commissioners questioning other constables.

“You know why I’m reacting,” Teran asked. “I’m reacting because somebody checked out a little expired license plate, and lo and behold there was a hot pursuit and somebody got shot.”

While it was actually for a broken headlight, not an expired license place, Teran’s tough questions stand as a warning: constables from all seven precincts in the county will likely face more questions from commissioners in the future.

Calls to Precinct 6 Constable Alejandro Gamboa were all met with busy signals today; at last check, Mario Ramos was on administrative leave.