Interim Police Chief Brian Manley last week indefinitely suspended Officer Robert Mathis for a series of administrative violations stemming from an Oct. 7, 2017, incident in which he and his partner, Nathaniel Stallings, were running patrol and came across a man and a woman in a car – the latter of whom they knew to have experience working as a prostitute.
Mathis and Stallings questioned the man, but ultimately let him drive off, turning their attention toward the woman. Manley wrote in a lengthy memo – 14 pages, complete with a 10-paragraph conclusion – that the two were immediately physical with her (and overly aggressive in many instances), lacked an impartial attitude during the detainment, and ultimately lied about or withheld a number of inflammatory details during their reporting of the incident (and collaborated on their account of the events). Manley wrote he’d be “remiss in my duties and responsibilities if I allowed such an Officer to be bestowed the power to continue to have the duties and responsibilities that are designed to serve the public.”
The details of Manley’s memo suggest that Stallings might suffer the same fate as Mathis, yet Friday’s release beget no such notice for the partner – a likely byproduct of the fact that Stallings is currently facing a class A misdemeanor indictment by the Travis County District Attorney’s Office for his role in the arrest. Mathis’ termination came 175 days after the incident in question, and civil service laws allow for a statute of limitations of 180 days. However, Manley may override that statute for any officer who’s facing a felony or class A or B misdemeanor for that incident if he files a request with the state’s attorney general. One would think that he won’t be getting back onto the beat.
This article appears in April 6 • 2018 and March 30 • 2018.