SAPD officer issued 15-day suspension for drinking, road rage shootout outside strip club

Ofc. Dezi Rios, an 11-year veteran of the department who worked as an academy instructor, was shot six times around 9:30 p.m. in the 9400 block of Interstate 10 West near the AllStars Gentlemen's Club. Ofc. Dezi Rios, an 11-year veteran of the department who worked as an academy instructor, was shot six times around 9:30 p.m. in the 9400 block of Interstate 10 West near the AllStars Gentlemen's Club. Photo: SAPD Careers/Facebook Photo: SAPD Careers/Facebook Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close SAPD officer issued 15-day suspension for drinking, road rage shootout outside strip club 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

A San Antonio police officer was issued a 15-day suspension without pay last month for his role in what records describe as an alcohol-fueled road rage shootout in May that left three people, including himself, injured.

The gun battle began as a road rage dispute between the officer, Dezi Rios, who was off-duty at the time, and Demontae Lashun Walker at about 9:30 p.m. May 29 in the 9400 block of Interstate 10.

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According to police, Rios pulled into the parking lot of All Stars Gentlemen's Club and Walker followed. They stepped out of their cars and confronted each other.

"Hey, motherf----r, you know you almost killed me back there?" Walker said, according to the suspension document.

"Obviously, I f-----g didn't because you're still here," Rios retorted. "You're a f-----g dumbass for pulling over. Get the f--k out of here."

At that point, according to police, Walker opened fire on Rios, striking him six times. Rios ran back to his car and returned fire, striking Walker and grazing a passenger in Walker's car, Destiny Rhodes, in the head.

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Rios was treated at University Hospital and later released. According to his suspension record, investigators later learned he had been drinking prior to the shootout and was intoxicated "to the extent that he was rendered unfit to report for duty," a violation of police regulations.

Walker, a former barber in the UTSA-area, was also hospitalized and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His family members said he was paralyzed from the waist down in the shooting.

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"He just got married. Just had a baby and got a house. He opened up a barber shop in his brother's name. That's who he was," Desmond Walker, Demontae's father, told MySA.com days after the shooting. "That doesn't fit the profile of a maniac or a habitual criminal."

Rios began his 15-day suspension without pay on Dec. 3. He will return to service on Dec. 17.

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Caleb Downs covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County. Read him on our breaking news site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com |

cdowns@mysa.com | @calebjdowns