An Austin police officer thought he was protecting the public, but was instead punished for his actions.
He chased down a robbery suspect while off-duty. We now have video of the takedown.
This is video of off-duty Officer Jonathan LaBorde running out of his church in South Austin. Minutes earlier he was in a meeting when he saw a bloody man run down the hallway.
"His first thought was that somebody had robbed the church, they'd just finished church services and there was cash there," said Austin Police Association President Wayne Vincent.
LaBorde chased the man--with his badge in his left hand and his gun in his right.
Unbeknownst to LaBorde, officers were already in the area because the man, who is identified as 33-year-old Matthew Rogers, had just attempted to steal a tablet from a T-Mobile store. Police say Rogers struggled with an employee and then pulled a knife on him. He then ran to the church.
The dash camera video picks back up with LaBorde taking down Rogers in the middle of a street.
Patrol officer: "I can hear somebody helping us out."
Patrol officer: "Thank God cause I've been chasing this guy. He had a knife on him so I didn't want to get stabbed."
The responding officer was clearly relieved that LaBorde had Rogers in custody.
In addition, FOX 7 has obtained an email that a lieutenant on the scene that day wrote to LaBorde's supervisor.
He states: "LaBorde did a good job and he clearly let us know he was an officer. We appreciated the help."
The chief did not feel the same way. He suspended LaBorde for ten days.
The disciplinary memo says LaBorde's pursuit of the subject "posed an unreasonable risk to the public and that most of the responding "officers did not know that LaBorde was an APD officer but rather all they knew was an individual was running after the suspect with a gun in his hand."
It is the department's policy to wait for on-duty officers to arrive before intervening.
LaBorde had two opportunities, department heads say, to disengage when officers arrived on scene. He did not.
LaBorde was also found to be at fault for using inappropriate tactics to take down Rogers.
Still Vincent feels LaBorde should be praised instead of punished.
"This thing went down as safely as a situation can," said Vincent. "The officers on duty never saw the suspect until LaBorde had him in custody. They wouldn't have caught this guy likely they would not have caught this guy."
Matthew Rogers was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and sentenced to two years in prison on July 2nd.
LaBorde has appealed his suspension. The appeal process could take up to a year. Vincent says he is eager to have his day in court.
