Special to El Rrun-Rrun
When Diane Ortiz (AKA Dee Martinez, formerly Dee Cuevas) was stopped by a Walmart loss prevention officer Sunday and allegedly caught with about $42 worth of stolen goods, she pulled out a police badge from the Brownsville Police Department and informed him that she was a police officer.
That's her in uniform. Well, the badge didn't carry much weight with the Walmart cop and the city police were called to take her away.
On Thursday, the BPD said that "a now former police officer" was arrested on theft charges, a class B misdemeanor Sunday, October 11 after officers were called to the Walmart located at 2205 Ruben M. Torres Blvd., in reference to a theft. The adult female was identified as Diane Ortiz who was an officer with the Brownsville Police Department, BPD said in a statement.
Following her detention, Ortiz was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Subsequently the employee voluntary resigned her post, BPD said.
According to BPD, on Wednesday, October 14, 2020, Ortiz was charged and booked in to the Brownsville City Jail for a theft charge.
Some participants at the event recall how Tetreau at a city commission meeting presented her bod with a resolution for a job well done and for serving 20 years of service as a patrol officer. Ortiz (Martinez, Cuevas) was the subject of some acrimony between Tetreau and the BPD after Martinez (Cuevas, Ortiz) was assigned to night patrol in downtown Brownsville.
During a telephone call to the police chief, Tetreau hinted that his potential choice as the selection of the next chief might be endangered over the assignment of Ortiz (AKA Cuevas, Martinez) to the night patrol downtown.
That resulted in a complaint against Tetreau filed by the PD. Police charged that Tetreau was allegedly interfering in the operations of the Brownsville Police Dept., including Martinez's patrol assignment.
There have been other occasions when Martinez has appeared to support Tetreau. When Catalina Presas-Garcia filed as candidate against Tetreau, one of the signatures questioned on her petition for inclusion in the ballot was from a person named Vicente Ortiz.That turned out to be Presas-Garcia's son from her previous marriage to Chris Ortiz, also a police officer. The attempt to remove Presas-Garcia from the ballot failed, but the effort – and the role of Martinez in the affair – showed her deep friendship with Tetreau, who has had her run-ins with the law (5) for assault against her spouse in the past.
Police officers are usually held to a higher standard because they are examples of what law-abiding citizens – and children – should aspire should be.
Martinez (AKA Cuevas, Ortiz) has been very active in Tetreau's political aspirations and has campaign hard for her BF. Tetreau.
She might have been lucky in being charged with stealing goods valued at only $42, just $8 under the more serious $50 felony level.
Now her resignation will leave the questions unanswered on whether her case would be treated the same as everybody else's or whether she would be given a slap on the hand and allowed to continue as a police officer. Nice and neat.