An off-duty San Antonio police officer found himself in hot water—and a fistfight—after surveillance footage from a Northwest Side dental office showed a physical altercation with a 66-year-old man. Officer Robert Pompa Jr., with six years under his belt at the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD), was slapped with a three-day suspension in mid-November, following an internal affairs probe confirming misconduct.
According to a video obtained by KSAT, the altercation took place inside an office at the 7900 block of Fredericksburg Rd. on May 25. The footage, which is sans audio, shows Pompa attempting to enter through a locked door while the elder man sat just feet away inside, seemingly refusing to unlock the door and at one point, he appears to tap on the window—the officer, along with three other individuals, gains entry only after an office employee intervenes.
The dispute begins when Pompa exchanges words with the 66-year-old, leading to a two-handed push from the officer, which sent the man stumbling back. Restoring his balance, the man moves toward Pompa throwing punches, smacking the off-duty officer several times in the face. Pompa, amidst the scuffle, then proceeds to press his police credentials against the man's forehead, yet this does little to quell the situation as the 66-year-old continues to land punches on Pompa.
Pompa pulls out his cell phone, makes a call and briefly leaves the office, as reported by a KTSA coverage of the incident. Meanwhile, the man is also seen talking on his phone. Arriving officers later found Pompa with a slightly swollen lip, while the man he fought brandished a small cut above his eye, neither of the men was arrested in the wake of the office, details emerge from an SAPD report that incorrectly swapped the men’s names.
No criminal charges have been filed against the man involved, even as Pompa returned to duty post-suspension. SAPD officials confirmed no arrests were made in this bruising encounter, leaving questions about de-escalation and appropriate off-duty conduct hanging over the department's battered reputation.
