Cesar Alcantara
Date: May 2020 (incident) , resigned 2022
Agency: San Diego Police Department
Former San Diego Police Department officer Cesar Alcantara was under internal investigation after multiple serious misconduct allegations. In May 2020, after an argument with his girlfriend (also an officer), he dramatically threatened self-harm, sent videos of himself pointing a firearm to his mouth, then staged his own “suicide” by lying on his living room floor surrounded by what appeared to be blood, later revealed to be fake stage blood fired his handgun into the floorboards. A search of his home found bullet fragments, a hole in the floorboards, a bottle labeled “stage blood,” and other evidence.
Investigators also uncovered text-message evidence showing that while on duty, Alcantara solicited sex workers, at least four occasions, including once while he was setting up crime-scene tape around a homicide in October 2020. Despite findings of “criminal conduct and untruthfulness” by internal affairs, the county district attorney declined to prosecute, citing lack of sufficient proof. Alcantara resigned in May 2022 before any formal discipline. As of the latest reporting, his law enforcement certification in California remains eligible, meaning he could seek a policing job elsewhere.
SOURCE LINKS:
https://www.kpbs.org/news/public-safety/2023/04/28/san-diego-police-officer-stages-suicide-shoots-gun-in-home-solicits-sex-workers-but-was-never-disciplined
https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-cop-faced-no-discipline-staging-own-suicide-soliciting-prostitutes-report
