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Texas officer who fed homeless man feces sandwich as a prank in the docks again for his 'toilet humor'

Matthew Luckhurst is fighting to get his job back for a second time following the emergence of a second "vile and disgusting" prank
PUBLISHED FEB 27, 2020
Matthew Luckhurst (San Antonio Police Department)
Matthew Luckhurst (San Antonio Police Department)

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: A Texas police officer who was fired for giving a homeless person a feces sandwich but got his job back on a technicality is now fighting to be reinstated after he was fired again in connection to another feces-related prank the same year.

Matthew Luckhurst was a bike patrol officer with the San Antonio Police Department when he was terminated in October 2016 over a disturbing "prank" where he picked up dog poop, placed it on a piece of bread, and then placed the "sandwich" in a styrofoam container. 

The container was meant to be taken as a "half-eaten meal" provided by a local religious group for the homeless in the city, and a sleeping homeless man eventually woke up, picked up the container, and seemed to have eaten its contents.

After the incident came to light, he was fired but managed to keep his job on a technicality. He pointed out that the incident fell outside the 180-day window that allowed the department to suspend him indefinitely, an argument that an arbitrator agreed with, but still condemned.

However, Luckhurst was fired again in December 2016 after the department learned of another "prank" that happened the same year where he and another officer defecated in the women's bathroom, did not flush after, and smeared a brown substance on the seat.

During his arbitration hearing this week, the city's attorney charged that Luckhurtst harassed, intimidated, and degraded female officers with the prank, a sentiment shared by San Antonio Police Officer Jessica Medrano, who was eight-and-a-half months pregnant at the time.

"I had a lot of nausea during my pregnancy. As soon as I smelt it I wanted to vomit. I was gagging," she said, adding she was left "mad and disgusting" and would never work alongside Luckhurst again.

"It's led to mistrust between the citizens of San Antonio and our department, that our officers have had to answer for his actions," she said.

Police Chief William McManus was also called as a witness and said he did not think Luckhurst deserved to come back to the police department and termed the officer's behavior as "vile and disgusting."

Luckhurst took full responsibility for the prank and admitted that "in hindsight, it was immature" but continued to insist that it was "a joke." He also denied smearing a brown substance, which he said was coffee powder, on the seat and claimed he had placed small balls that he suspected had melted.

His attorney, Ben Sifuentes, said Luckhurst's actions were widely regarded in the department as "just a joke" and highlighted other incidents of harassment which had resulted only in suspensions and not a termination.

The arbitration is expected to conclude on Thursday, February 27.

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