Cop was intoxicated while responding to baby’s kidnapping, California police chief says

A California police officer was intoxicated while he was investigating the kidnapping of a 3-month-old baby, authorities said.

“I am disappointed and dismayed by the information I was shared today, but it must be shared in the spirit of transparency,” Anthony Mata, police chief of the San Jose Police Department, said at a May 3 news conference. “We are, and should be, held to a higher standard.”

Mata did not identify the officer, but said he had been placed on leave.

“If criminal conduct is discovered, there will be swift and appropriate action. That action can lead up to termination, in addition to any criminal prosecution and sentencing,” Mata said.

The officer was responding to an April 26 incident, when a 3-month-old baby was kidnapped from his San Jose home. His grandmother, who was watching him for the afternoon, was unloading groceries from her car when a man entered her apartment and left with the child, the Sacramento Bee reported.

The baby, Brandon Cuellar, was found alive the next day and taken to a local hospital as a precaution, the police department said on Twitter. Three suspects were taken into custody, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Mata apologized to Cuellar’s family, saying he was “disappointed and dismayed” by the officer’s reported intoxication on the job.

“When any officer, regardless of agency, county or state, tarnishes the badge, we all suffer the consequences,” Mata said.

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said at the conference that the officer’s conduct was “both offensive and dangerous.”

“Discipline for this behavior should be appropriately severe,” Liccardo said.

An FBI agent who was also at the crime scene noticed the officer’s behavior and reported it to police, KRON4 reported.

Assistant Police Chief Paul Joseph said at the news conference that the department needs to determine if “officers either should have, or could have, recognized something with their colleague and didn’t.”

“I don’t think officers can act with impunity, and I don’t think they can act without consequences,” Joseph said.

This story was originally published May 4, 2022 at 3:14 PM with the headline "Cop was intoxicated while responding to baby’s kidnapping, California police chief says."