Report: City Rep. and County Commissioner argued with police at East EP Whataburger
City Representative Claudia Ordaz says the release of a police report detailing an alleged argument involving her and police officers is a political attack.
“This latest attempt is an underhanded tactic that demonstrates the type of personal attacks and dysfunction at city hall that only hinders the city’s ability to address pressing issues facing our community,” Ordaz said in a statement emailed to ABC-7.
According to a police report published by “El Paso News,” the alleged incident happened shortly after 2 a.m. on September 6, 2015 in the parking lot of the Whataburger at Montwood and Zaragoza.
The report states Ordaz, County Commissioner Vince Perez, and a man identified as Jose Corona were inside a car at the Whataburger. When they were backing up, the driver of a car behind them honked. Corona, the backseat passenger in the car with Perez and Ordaz, allegedly exited the car and confronted the driver who honked.
Police inside the Whataburger noticed the argument and asked Perez, Ordaz and Corona to leave because they were allegedly becoming aggressive and causing a disturbance.
Ordaz identified herself as a city representative and told the officers they were not handling the incident in a professional manner. Perez and Ordaz allegedly questioned the officers’ authority to ask them to leave, according to the report. At that point, the officers called for a police supervisor.
Perez and Ordaz left the Whataburger after speaking with the supervisor.
According to the police report, one of the officers who called his supervisor said Perez repeatedly asked him what part of the penal code gave him the authority to ask them to leave.
Ordaz said in a statement, “In the past seven months I have been subject to an internal police investigation that was initiated by another member of council, an ethics complaint, an ethics complaint appeal, and now this.” She added, “each of these attempts to undermine my integrity have failed and will not intimidate me from standing up for the people who elected me to represent them.”
Ordaz told ABC-7 the ethics complaint and internal investigation were dismissed.
