El Paso Police Officer Arrested For Theft Isn’t The First

The El Paso police officer arrested for theft may be the first El Paso cop busted in 2024 but he's far from being the first ever.

El Paso is the 6th largest city in Texas but, in terms of the number of officers and staff, the El Paso Police Department seems to rank (nationally) in the upper 20's - lower 30's. (Based on this.)

EPPD employs about 1,200 people and around 1,000 of them are actual police officers. As with any large group though, there's always a rogue somewhere.

Where ever we rank, size wise, we certainly don't have the biggest or smallest police force in Texas. El Paso has 11 different law enforcement agencies, not counting school district 5 - OH, in total.

Last July, 5 EPPD officers were arrested and charged with various crimes including DWI, interfering with a DWI investigation, assault and a sexual assault.

In August, 2 were busted for sexually harassing fellow officers. January, 2023, saw another officer brought in on child sex abuse charges.

Why Was An El Paso Police Officer Arrested?

One EPPD officer was just arrested and charged with theft over $2,500 but under $30,000. Officer Ruben Morales was called to a hit and run and, afterward, cash was reported missing from the vehicle.

The internal investigation revealed that U.S. currency was missing from a locked glove box and a small bag that was left inside of the vehicle. The owner of the property reported the missing funds to authorities prompting a further investigation in the matter, according to police. - ktsm

What Will Happen To The EPPD Officer Arrested For Theft?

The process for firing Morales has begun.

These cops do not represent EPPD as a whole and, historically, El Paso has had relatively few "bad cop" stories to tell. Hopefully, this will be the last.