Jul. 4–FORT WORTH — A Fort Wort police officer has been fired after officials say he used police resources to find the address of a romantic rival whose pickup was later struck by gunfire outside his home, according to a disciplinary letter filed Monday with the Civil Service Commission.
Police officials suspect that officer Jesse Banda, who joined the department in December 1999, was involved in or had knowledge about the shooting, according to the letter signed by Police Chief Ralph Mendoza.
Banda, whose termination was effective Thursday, “categorically denies” the allegations against him and will appeal his firing, said Terry Daffron Hickey, a lawyer with the Texas Municipal Police Association.
“This hearing is probably going to be one of the most interesting ones I do,” Hickey said. “There are so many irregularities. It’s just going to be a field day for me in how they conducted this investigation.”
Major-case detectives also conducted a criminal investigation, but no charges are expected.
“Even though there was not enough evidence or information available to establish probable cause on the criminal charge of deadly conduct, Mendoza — in his review of the incident in its entirety — felt based on the preponderance of the evidence, it did warrant termination,” said Lt. Dean Sullivan, police spokesman.
According to the letter, Banda was looking for an ex-girlfriend when he showed up uninvited at a private party in the 1400 block of Homan Avenue between 4 and 5 a.m. Jan. 1. The two talked about their recently ended relationship and the woman asked Banda to leave, the letter states.
Before leaving, Banda inquired about the identity of the driver of a white Dodge pickup parked on the street.
At 6:25 a.m., Banda used his personal cellphone to ask police employees to run a stolen-vehicle check on two vehicles, one being the white Dodge pickup.
He then changed his request, asking only for the name and address of the vehicles’ registered owners.
Three days later, Banda went to his ex-girlfriend’s home to talk to her again. She told him that she was seeing someone else and acknowledged that the man had been at the party the morning Banda had shown up.
The letter states that when the woman left the room, Banda snooped through her cellphone to find out the man’s telephone number.
About an hour later, he called his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend, interrogating him about his relationship with the woman, the letter states.
When the new boyfriend acknowledged that he knew who Banda was and knew his family, Banda reportedly replied, “Then you should know how we do it then.”
Less than four hours later, the man’s family heard a gunshot outside their home. Later that morning, the family discovered that their white Dodge pickup had been damaged by shotgun pellets.
In a subsequent investigation, Banda told internal affairs investigators that he had checked two suspicious vehicles on the morning of Jan. 1, but only to determine whether they were stolen.
The letter states, however, that he later admitted to Police Chief Ralph Mendoza that he had checked the license plates for personal reasons.
The officer denied to investigators that he was involved in or knew about the shooting.
But in a polygraph examination in May, the letter states, Banda showed he was being deceptive when asked whether he knew who shot at the pickup, whether he shot at the pickup, and whether he had known about the shooting before being questioned by investigators.
His untruthfulness in the internal investigation, coupled with the polygraph results, led police officials to also believe that Banda lied about not having any knowledge or involvement in the shooting, the letter states.
“Officer Banda’s consistent and appalling off-duty behavior has shown his lack of good moral character and his lack of integrity,” the letter states. “He has an obligation to keep his personal life unsullied, yet has exhibited behavior which has caused justified unfavorable criticism to himself and the Fort Worth Police Department.”
Hickey said she has reviewed the polygraph exam and believes it is “completely invalid.”
She said she takes issue with the letter’s description of Banda as a jealous, obsessed man unable to accept the end of his relationship with his ex-girlfriend.
“From the documents that I’ve reviewed and the individuals that I have spoken with, this is a very on-again, off-again relationship on the side of both parties,” Hickey said.
“They paint him in a very bad light and they’re not giving the full story because she, in my opinion, has blame in this also.”
