Off-duty police officer accused of assaulting woman at El Paso hotel

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- El Paso Police Officer Manuel Flores Jr., 48, is charged with assault causing bodily injury and unlawful restraint after an incident at an El Paso hotel in November 2023.

Court documents obtained by ABC-7 reveal that Flores invited the alleged victim up to his hotel room. He told investigators that he met the alleged victim and a group of her friends downtown and socialized with them for a few hours. The woman told investigators that she and Flores engaged in "regular sexual intercourse" when she went upstairs with him.

The woman then alleged that Flores used his bodyweight to hold her down, hit her face three times, then choked her. Flores told investigators that the woman asked him to hit her. He said he did not think the request was out of the ordinary, since women had made the same request to him before. He said he used minimal force when hitting her. The woman then started crying and pacing across the room, according to court documents.

Flores said he then started recording the interaction because he felt the woman was accusing him. He reported hearing the woman say "You are all the same," referring to Flores and other men. Flores said he then told the woman she could leave the room.

A spokesperson for the El Paso Police Department released the following information about the incident:

"The incident was an off-duty incident that did not involve him acting in his capacity as a Police Officer.  The incident was investigated by the El Paso Police Department's Special Investigations Unit and presented to the District Attorney's Office.  At this time he is on Administrative Duty pending the outcome of the Criminal Case and the Administrative Investigation by the Internal Affairs Division.  At this time there is no additional information we can provide."

EPPD