Officer Matthew Luckhurst had his dismisal overturned after he allegedly gave a homeless man a sandwich with dog feces. (Picture: San Antonio Police Department/Facebook)

A police officer who was fired after he allegedly gave a homeless man a sandwich with dog poop has been cleared due to a technicality.

San Antonio Police Officer Matthew Luckhurst had his firing overturned by an arbitrator. He was cleared thanks to a local government code that prevents law enforcement from punishing an officer for conduct that happened more than 180 days before they are disciplined.

Luckhurst testified that the incident occurred on May 6, 2016 as he and two other bike patrol officers were clearing homeless people from a parking lot marked with ‘no trespassing’ signs, according to arbitration documents.

As Luckhurst and the officers asked individuals to leave the area, Luckhurst noticed trash including dog feces, condoms, personal hygiene products and a slice of bread. He then allegedly picked up the feces with the slice of bread and placed it in a food container, which he left ‘in close proximity’ to a homeless man who did no leave the area.




The individual reportedly picked up the container, then threw it to the ground after smelling it.

The dog feces sandwich incident occurred as officers were clearing homeless individuals from an area under an overpass in San Antonio, Texas (Picture: Google Maps)

One of the officers with Luckhurst reportedly told him, ‘You can’t be doing that. You have to go pick that up,’ according to arbitration documents. Luckhurst then biked back to the area and disposed of the container, according to KSAT.

Luckhurst learned of his firing on October 28, 2016, which was within the 180-day window for discipline.

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However, Luckhurst reviewed his medical records and found the incident could not have occurred on May 6, 2016 because he injured himself during a martial arts class and was on light duty from April 6, 2016 to June 14, 2016, which would have prevented him from riding a bike.

After witnesses and others who heard of the incident were interviewed and all gave varying dates regarding the incident, it was determined that it may have occurred outside the 180-day window, which effectively voided his dismissal.

An arbitrator overturned Luckhurst’s indefinite suspension, noting that Internal Affairs investigators ‘had (the) ability to corroborate testimony by means of having the video tape preserved and reviewed’ but did not.

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Luckhurst is still facing a second indefinite suspension for another feces-related incident on June 12, 2016.

According to suspension paperwork, Luckhurst and another male officer defecated in the women’s restroom at the bike patrol office and intentionally did not flush the toilet..

They then spread a brown substance on the toilet seat ‘giving the appearance that there was fecal matter on the seat,’ according to disciplinary documents.

It is unclear when Luckhurst’s appeal will be ruled upon regarding that incident.