San Antonio police officer fired for reportedly dating prostitute

Tracy Helmke was arrested on October 28, 2016, on a prostitution charge. San Antonio Police Officer Mark H. Walaski, who had been with the department for nearly 22 years, received an indefinite suspension in July for dating Helmke. less Tracy Helmke was arrested on October 28, 2016, on a prostitution charge. San Antonio Police Officer Mark H. Walaski, who had been with the department for nearly 22 years, received an indefinite suspension in ... more Photo: / Photo: / Image 1 of / 96 Caption Close San Antonio police officer fired for reportedly dating prostitute 1 / 96 Back to Gallery

A San Antonio police officer who had been with the department for nearly 22 years received an indefinite suspension in July for dating a convicted prostitute, according to suspension records obtained by the San Antonio Express-News.

Officer Mark H. Walaski received an indefinite suspension, which is tantamount to firing, in July for "consorting with persons of ill repute," according to the documents.

In July 2016, Walaski met Tracy Helmke, a woman who had an active warrant for a prostitution charge. Walaski allowed Helmke to live with him, and the two began dating.

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At one point, after Helmke was arrested on two separate prostitution charges, Walaski paid $530 to bail her out of jail.

On two different occasions, Walaski was involved in a disturbance with the woman, which he failed to report to a supervisor.

Then in March, Walaski signed a six-month lease for an apartment for Helmke. Around that time, she pleaded no contest to the two prostitution charges.

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This is the second suspension Walaski has received this year. In April, he received a three-day suspension for discarding what appeared to be synthetic marijuana after a drug arrest. He also did not turn on his bodycam during a previous arrest and failed to complete proper reports for both incidents.

So far this year, Police Chief William McManus has issued around 45 suspensions, out of 2,100 people on the force.

Read more about officer discipline at ExpressNews.com.

eeaton@express-news.net | Twitter: @emilieeaton