YISD's superintendent head-butted the leader of another El Paso County school district while they were on a business trip, according to public records obtained by the El Paso Times.

More than a month after the attack, Ysleta Independent School District trustees continue to deny knowledge of the fight and decline to discuss whether the incident warrants any possible disciplinary action.

YISD board President Cruz Ochoa, who attended the school board training in San Antonio with Superintendent Xavier De La Torre, said last week and again Thursday that he had no knowledge of the incident despite several media reports and persistent social media comments.

"I haven't seen anything like this, so I can't comment on that unless I see something concrete," Ochoa said.

When told that the El Paso Times' public records request confirmed De La Torre's involvement, Ochoa said he would need to consult with the district's attorney before commenting about the redacted police report to see if it was "viable evidence."

The San Antonio Police Department responded to the fight, but the assault investigation did not result in any criminal charges being filed against De La Torre.

The YISD employee handbook says the district follows the Texas Educators’ Code of Ethics.

It reads, in part, "The Texas educator, in maintaining the dignity of the profession, shall respect and obey the law, demonstrate personal integrity, and exemplify honesty and good moral character."

It also states that "the educator shall comply with state regulations, written local school board policies, and other state and federal laws," and that "the educator shall not make threats of violence against school district employees, school board members, students, or parents of students."

Socorro Independent School District Superintendent José Espinoza acknowledged he was the victim of the attack that took place about 1 a.m. June 13 in a Whataburger in downtown San Antonio.

The attacker "appeared to be intoxicated" and had "slurred speech" and "bloodshot eyes," according to a June 13 police report.

San Antonio police officials redacted the names of the attacker and some witnesses from the police report, because no charges were filed.

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However, the Times confirmed the suspect in the attack was De La Torre by requesting police reports involving anyone named Guadalupe De La Torre with his date of birth. "Guadalupe" is De La Torre's first name and is the name he used when he first signed his contract with the Ysleta district in 2014.

The San Antonio Police Department delivered the same June 13 redacted police report, confirming De La Torre's involvement.

De La Torre has repeatedly declined to comment, and did not return a call to his cellphone Thursday.

YISD trustees deny any knowledge of fight

YISD school board members have denied any knowledge of the incident, although some of them attended the training with De La Torre.

The trustees and superintendent "all went our different ways" at the conference, Ochoa, the YISD board president, said Thursday, because they attended different sessions, and thus "never saw each other."

Trustee Carlos Bustillos said Thursday that although he also attended the Texas Association of School Boards' Summer Leadership Institute in San Antonio, he had no knowledge of De La Torre being involved in a fight.

When asked whether De La Torre's behavior was in line with the board's policies and expectations for De La Torre's conduct, Bustillos said: "I have to look into it. I've never been in this situation, so I don't know."

"I need something concrete, personally," trustee Mike Rosales said Thursday when asked how he handles allegations of superintendent misconduct. "I'm talking for myself, but I'm sure the rest of the board members feel the same way."

Rosales also attended the June training, and said he, too, was not aware of any fight involving De La Torre.

When a misconduct allegation arises, the board president would conduct an investigation, trustee Sotero Ramirez said Thursday.

When asked whether De La Torre engaging in a fight would be considered a violation of board policy, Ramirez, who was not at the training, said: "I can't speak to that right now. I don't know; I honestly don't know."

When asked the same question, Rosales said: "Logically speaking, we don't put up with that. But I don't have the book (the employee handbook) in front of me. I'm not trying to avoid, but I'm not trying to get myself in a trap."

Trustee Connie Woodruff and board Vice President Richard Couder could not be reached for comment Thursday, but told the Times on July 12 they had no knowledge of the incident. Woodruff attended the training.

Board Secretary Kathryn Lucero did not return a call for comment Thursday.

YISD spokesman Chris Lechuga said previously that De La Torre was "not available" to speak about the fight when the El Paso Times requested a comment from him July 9, and De La Torre left a July 11 board meeting through a side door in an apparent attempt to avoid media questions about the police report.

Details from the police report

San Antonio police were called to a downtown Whataburger at approximately 1 a.m. Thursday, June 13, to assist an off-duty sheriff's deputy who had detained two men for fighting. The TASB conference took place June 12-15.

A witness, whose name was redacted, saw the suspect, identified by the Times as De La Torre, "head butt" Espinoza and then said Espinoza punched his attacker "in the face," according to the police report released by the city of San Antonio.

The witness said the attacker "fell to the ground," and off-duty sheriff's Deputy Frank Ramos detained the two until police Officer Gilbert Salazar arrived.

The victim, identified as Jose Angel Espinoza, age 48, in the report, told police he punched the suspect "as a means of self-defense."

Espinoza released a statement, via SISD spokesman Daniel Escobar, confirming that he "was a victim in an unfortunate incident while in San Antonio, June 13, 2019," but he declined to confirm who attacked him.

“Espinoza confirms the (official SAPD) report is factual and accurate, and will let the official statement of accounts speak for itself,” the statement said.

According to the police report, the fight started when De La Torre asked Espinoza, "Where are you coming from? Soccer practice?" because of the clothing Espinoza was wearing.

The officer wrote that the suspect "appeared to be intoxicated due to the odor of intoxicants emitting from his person, slurred speech and red bloodshot eyes."

According to the SISD statement, "Dr. Espinoza was advised of his right to press charges against the suspect, but he declined to do so."

The report says another person, whose name also was redacted, took the suspect back to the nearby hotel where they were staying.

The downtown Commerce Street Whataburger is just blocks from the six hotels reserved by the TASB for those attending its annual Summer Leadership Institute, which the organization calls its "flagship training conference for trustees and administrators across the state of Texas to gather ... to focus on critical issues facing local school districts."

The El Paso Times is awaiting a response on a public records request for communications between De La Torre and YISD's Chief Communications Officer Patricia Ayala, as well as those between the superintendent and the board president since June 13.

Frustration over redactions

The city of San Antonio said the report is redacted because De La Torre was not arrested on a possible charge of assault by contact, which is a Class C misdemeanor.

Although De La Torre was suspected of being intoxicated in a public place, San Antonio police did not issue a public intoxication citation, also a Class C misdemeanor, according to San Antonio police records.

"That is the officer's discretion and there's a number of times when they would decide that somebody needs to be cited or arrested (for public intoxication) or somebody can simply be released to the custody of a responsible party," San Antonio police spokesman Lt. Jesse Salame said.

People are most often arrested on public intoxication charges if they pose a danger to themselves or others, Salame said.

The city of San Antonio cited the fact "the investigation did not result in a conviction or deferred adjudication" as its reason for not releasing the unredacted report. The case has been closed, the city said.

The lack of an arrest also was cited by the city as the reason it would not release police body camera and dashboard camera video from the incident.

Espinoza could not be reached directly for comment.

However, text messages between him and SISD board President Cynthia Najera from July 12 reveal they discussed previous media coverage of the incident, specifically Channel 14-KFOX's July 11 coverage of a fight between "two local superintendents."

Najera sent him the link to a Facebook post from SISD trustee Paul E. Garcia in which Garcia shared the KFOX story with the comment: "Dr. Espinoza has always displayed the utmost integrity and honor in my presence. I fully support and stand with our superintendent during this time."

Espinoza responded to Najera's text with, "His name was not mentioned in story."

Najera replied, "I know! And you know their 'several sources' told them his name, so why didn't them name him??? 😡"

Epinoza then responded with a link to a Facebook post from Jeff Omspaugh, a former candidate for the YISD board. The post read, "The drunk that attacked the SISD Superintendent reportedly was YISD Superintendent Xavier Makeup Boy De Latorre. This is not his first drunken indiscretion. The Board better start holding him accountable."

Najera confirmed Friday the person she was referring to in that text message was De La Torre.

"It was an unfortunate incident that happened. But as stated in the police report, Dr. Espinoza was the victim," she said. "It's unfortunate, but it has been discussed between the board and Dr. Espinoza and we're moving forward."

When asked why the SISD had chosen not to publicly name De La Torre in the fight, Najera said that because the police report is redacted, "we didn't feel like it was our place to disclose that information."

She declined to comment on how the YISD or its board have handled the incident.

The text messages between Najera and Espinoza were obtained through a Texas Public Information Act request by the El Paso Times, which also showed that Escobar, SISD's chief communications officer, shared coverage of the incident with Espinoza.

Escobar sent several screenshots of comments made at an El Paso-based Instagram account, @fitfamelpaso, after the account shared a link to KFOX's story. Escobar's screenshots to Espinoza include several comments suggesting De La Torre was the suspect in the police report.

Another television station, Channel 9-KTSM, first reported on June 28 that Espinoza was the victim of an attack.

De La Torre's history of conduct issues

De La Torre was the superintendent of the SISD from 2009 through 2011. In 2012, he was named the County Superintendent of Schools at the Santa Clara County Office of Education in California, but tensions with the board that oversaw his office quickly mounted and he left after 21 months.

The San Jose Mercury News reported that his tenure in California was marked by tense relationships with employees and “an atmosphere of fear and secrecy.” The county office, which oversaw 32 districts, also was investigating De La Torre’s expenses at the time of his departure.

He returned to Texas to lead the Ysleta district in March 2014 and has enjoyed a largely positive relationship with the board of trustees. However, the board did consider adding a fraternization policy in 2016 because of a romantic relationship De La Torre began with a district employee, an occupational therapist.

That relationship came to light when the superintendent’s ex-wife, Amy Cobbs De La Torre, posted on Facebook a photo and video of the couple kissing at a football game in Arlington, two weeks after De La Torre's divorce was finalized.

De La Torre did not violate any existing policy and told the Times in 2016 that he had ended the relationship with the employee.

Molly Smith may be reached at 546-6413; mksmith@elpasotimes.com; @smithmollyk on Twitter.