Over the past few weeks we’ve received more than a few emails and phone calls alleging that officers with the El Paso Police Department are testing positive for cocaine, marijuana, and other illegal substances.
“You should say something about the drug use from the cops,” wrote Hector Pena, of El Paso, Texas, who also identified himself as a former EPPD officer. “It’s like 1 out of 10 are negative.”
Mr. Pena said that he did want to meet with us so that he could provide information in support of the claims he was making.
What was provided to us, during that meeting, failed to meet the standards of what one could reasonably use as evidence.
Within hours of that meeting, we began to receive other calls, and emails alleging the same thing, rampant drug use among officers of the El Paso Police Department. A common denominator between Mr. Pena, and others providing information was the names of seven officers, all of which, allegedly, tested positive for cocaine use in 2023, and again in 2024.
We sent a FOIA over the City of El Paso, and the El Paso Police Department, and the response is below.
In 2023, only one officer tested positive for having used a controlled substance. In 2024, two officers – one of which is no longer with the Department.
When we received the FOIA response, we were going to let the whole thing go, as a non-story, until the calls and emails began flowing in again.
It is important to understand that we met with Mr. Pena, in person, to discuss his allegations, and why he was making such a claim. Mr. Pena doubled down on the fact that he used to be a police officer in El Paso.
During our research we discovered that Mr. Pena was never a police officer with any department. He could never be an officer because of his lengthy criminal history, and frequent stays in the Texas Department of Corrections – Institutional Division.
If what Mr. Pena and others alleged was not true, why are we even taking the time to write an article? I’ll explain.
At Southwest News Today we will call out officers, both in West Texas and Southeran New Mexico, who violate policy and procedure, or State/Federal Law. We will go after them like a bloodhound one a fresh scent. The Department says it embraces transparency and will hold their feet to a flame when they ignore that commitment to transparency.
The other side of that coin is that we will not go after something that is not there. As other officers already know, if we are wrong about something, and they clear it up, we remove the article, or quote and issue a public apology.
Are there bad officers in police departments all around the world? Yes, there are. Those few bad actors in uniform should not be enough for us to think every officer is out there under nefarious pretenses.
As a community we also need to keep in mind that there are those who feel that departments must be defended, or that officers are nothing more than the enforcement arm of a fascist government. Even worse, there is a criminal element on the street who will blame officers for arresting them, as is the case with Mr. Pena, and will do anything to discredit the arresting officers and detectives involved in their case.
Today, as I key this article in, after sending FOIA’s to the City of El Paso, the El Paso Police Department, and other oversight agencies within the State of Texas, the El Paso Police Department does not have a drug use problem within its ranks.
It is our hope that people like Mr. Pena, who want to besmirch the names of good officers simply because they cannot accept their guilt, will amend their ways, accept responsibility for their actions, and move forward.
Southwest News Today is looking for POSITIVE news to share. If you have a positive, happy story, we would love to hear it and share it. We’ve all had too much negative news of late. Click the link below to contact Southwest News Today:
Contact us today with your story!