SAN ANTONIO --
A former San Antonio Police officer on trial charged with misdemeanor drunken driving was found guilty on Friday.
Former San Antonio Police officer, Winder Morales, crashed his police car into a traffic barrier at Highway 90 and General McMullen Drive at about 5 a.m. the morning of Nov. 20, 2009.
Morales, who has since resigned from the police force, told investigators he had been working an undercover assignment.
His attorney said investigators smelled the odor of alcohol on Morales' breath and asked him to do a field sobriety test. He refused and was taken to jail on a drunken driving charge.
Morales faces a maximum punishment of six months in jail. He has elected to have the judge, not the jury, set punishment.
“I think he should be given the same punishment that most private citizens would be given and that would be the maximum: 6 months in jail and his peace officer's license revoked forever,” said Cindy Merrill, the mother of Rodney Brandenberger.
In the spring of 2006, Morales, who witnesses said was driving without his car's lights or siren, crashed into a truck driven by Brandenberger, 25, at a south side intersection.
“I think it’s a disgrace to the justice system that he actually was in more trouble over a misdemeanor DWI than killing my son, and in light of the fact that another officer killed another officer several months ago and was given a 15-year sentence and this man was given a 10-day suspension by chief McManus after he appealed to him, I think that was a slap in everyone’s face," Merrill said.
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