Former El Paso police officer Joshua Anthony Gallardo will not be heading to state prison after his domestic-violence cases wrapped up in court on Monday. A judge instead sentenced him to 10 years of community supervision, 30 days in the El Paso County Detention Facility, 500 hours of community service and a $1,000 fine. The sentence also requires Gallardo to surrender his Texas peace officer license, complete a batterer-intervention program and have no contact with the victims.
According to a news release reported by KVIA, Gallardo pleaded guilty June 23 to two third-degree felonies: assault impeding breath or circulation involving a dating partner and continuous violence against the family. The district attorney's office said those felony pleas connect to assaults involving two victims within a year. KVIA also reports that Gallardo pleaded earlier, on June 4, to misdemeanor terroristic threat and harassment after making 552 unwanted phone calls to a second victim, including a "threatening voicemail."
Past arrests and department response
Gallardo was placed on administrative leave in the wake of the earlier complaints, and the El Paso Police Department officially fired him in March 2025, local reporting shows. multiple arrests stretching back to 2023 and contemporaneous local coverage documented an incident in which bystanders restrained him until officers arrived. The department's decision to terminate his employment followed mounting public attention and several separate filings in the county jail records.
Sentence terms and what they mean
The sentence outlined by KVIA mixes long-term supervision with short jail time and community service rather than a lengthy prison term, reflecting the negotiated pleas described in the district attorney's release. The order that Gallardo surrender his peace officer license is part of the court disposition. Under Texas Commission on Law Enforcement rules, surrender of a license can be part of a plea bargain and may be permanent or for a stated term. TCOLE notes that surrenders and related disciplinary actions are recorded and may affect a person's eligibility to be reappointed as a peace officer.
Accountability and next steps
The district attorney's office says the no-contact order and required batterer-intervention program are conditions of supervision meant to protect the victims while Gallardo remains under court oversight. Victim-services units within the DA's office typically remain available to help with reporting compliance and safety planning, per local practice in similar cases. Earlier coverage from local outlets, including reporting that originally ran on KTSM, traced Gallardo's record of arrests and the EPPD response leading up to his dismissal and prosecution.
