A Pima County constable is facing suspension and possible removal from his position at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.
Oscar Vasquez, who is one of nine peace officers in the county tasked with serving civil-and-criminal papers of the county Justice Court, is alleged to have not shown up for work from April to September of last year.
Vasquez told the Star on Friday his absence was due to a “serious car accident.”
“The whole story is not being told, because there’s supposed to be an HR request for investigation due to being falsely accused of abandoning my position and refusing to not give a medical release form from medical leave I had late this spring and summer,” Vasquez said. “Basically, this recommendation for me to resign or to be suspended is by a partisan group, which is the Constable Ethics, Standards and Training Board.”
Vasquez was first elected in 2016 to serve as the constable for Justice Precinct 4. He was reelected in 2020. The position pays $67,000 a year.
“On April 26th Constable Vasquez began what he stated as ‘medical leave’. As of today, he has not returned to work, and his caseload is being distributed to other Constables, which is increasing their already high caseloads,” presiding constable Eric Krznarich said in a complaint filed in September, alleging that Vasquez’s “last document served” was the date of his medical leave.
“His absence is causing delays in the delivery of papers. Constables are driving long distances, 100+ miles to serve them and others are adding to their already busy precincts. We understand if he is not able to legitimately come back to work, but he is refusing to provide documentation,” he wrote in the September complaint.
Vasquez denies he has refused to provide documentation. Instead, he says he was never asked.
“I said, ‘look, I’ll give it to them when they want it.’ They don’t want it. I will give it to them,” he said Friday.
Krznarich told the Star Friday that Vasquez returned to his position in late September after his complaint was filed.
Vasquez confirmed this but said he is still working through the pain of his accident.
“I still have at least two to four surgeries scheduled for later out this year, due from that car accident,” Vasquez said. “I’m still in pain, I still get some dizziness here or there, I still have headaches, I still have some tendon tears in my knee and other parts of my body and things that have to be repaired later on this year.”
Chairwoman Adelita Grijalva asked that the Board Supervisors hear the Vasquez matter. It was recommended by Dennis Dowling, chairman of the state’s Constable Ethics, Standards and Training Board (CESTB).
A complaint filed with the CESTB by Vasquez’s fellow constables alleges two violations of his duties: that Vasquez “continuously committed nonfeasance by his failure to perform his constable duties,” and that Vasquez “failed to submit a standardized daily activity log” from August 2022 through August 2023.
Vasquez submitted a response to the complaints against him on Dec. 2. He says this was a “challenging period marked by significant events,” one being the shooting death of former constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay, 43, who was killed in August 2022 while serving an eviction.
Four days after her death, Vasquez wrote, a “seemingly minor accident,” his aforementioned “serious car accident,” caused him “considerable pain and distress.”
“On April 26, 2023, I appropriately notified the department of my absence following the incident. After seeking medical treatment, my anticipated return to work by the end of July or early August was adjusted due to the necessity for surgery,” Vasquez wrote. “My delay in return was further exacerbated by additional injuries discovered post-surgery. Despite medical advice, I encountered pressure from the presiding constable to expedite my return to duty.”
Vasquez attempted to return to his post but still experienced “pain and discomfort,” requiring another surgery, he said.
“These injuries have compelled me to reduce my mobility, affecting my ability to enter and exit vehicles, navigate stairs, uneven terrain, and refrain from working in hazardous nocturnal environments,” Vasquez wrote. “Given my compromised physical condition, I am unable to defend myself adequately if the situation demands it.”
On Dec. 21, Dowling and the state constables board urged Vasquez to resign from his post.
County supervisors will decide Tuesday whether or not Vasquez remains a constable.
It’s not the first time Vasquez has faced discipline from supervisors.
At the end of his first term, Vasquez received a four-month suspension from the previous Board of Supervisors “damaging several county vehicles, excessive speeding, confronting a citizen during a driving incident and public urination,” the Star previously reported.
In 2021, county supervisors suspended Vasquez without pay for 180 days for failing to evict a tenant, an action at the time he called “morally wrong and unjust” due to the “current COVID-19 pandemic and housing crisis.”
Vasquez intends to run for his third term this November despite possible disciplinary action.
“I don’t see no reason why. I’ve been serving my constituents in my county and I’ve been doing a good job,” Vasquez told the Star.
