Sexual harassment allegation made against police chief

By DINA ARÉVALO
Port Isabel-South Padre Press
editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com

A woman has filed a sexual harassment complaint against Port Isabel Chief of Police Robert Lopez.

Sandra Del Rio, who works as the chief’s assistant, filed the complaint with Port Isabel City Manager Jared Hockema at City Hall last Wednesday afternoon, Hockema confirmed.

Asked if a complaint had been made against the chief and if Del Rio was the person who had filed the complaint, the usually loquacious city manager responded succinctly, saying simply “yes” to each question during an interview after Tuesday evening’s special meeting of the Port Isabel City Commission.

The city manager said Del Rio visited him at City Hall at approximately 3:30 p.m. last Wednesday, May 9, but declined to go into specifics about the nature of the allegation, saying he needed to confer with the city attorney before he could divulge more details.

Reached at his office, Chief Lopez also declined to comment on the record and referred any further questions to the city manager and city attorney. “It involves a personnel issue and I think the city attorney or Jared would be the ones that should answer,” Lopez said.

In response to the allegation, Hockema said he asked Del Rio if she would prefer to continue her job duties at another location while the investigation took place.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2018/05/18/sexual-harassment-allegation-made-against-police-chief/

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