NEISD board candidate spit on Uber driver, repeatedly kicked car door during public intoxication incident, records show

Jacqueline Klein, 43, blew .204 after being taken to city sobering unit

SAN ANTONIO – One of the finalists for the vacant spot on North East Independent School District’s board of trustees is accused of spitting on an Uber driver and repeatedly kicking the door of his vehicle earlier this year, San Antonio police records obtained by KSAT Investigates confirm.

Jacqueline Klein, 43, was placed into custody after the May 3 incident near San Antonio International Airport and taken to a city sobering unit at 601 N. Frio Street, records show.

At the facility, Klein blew into a breathalyzer and had an estimated blood alcohol level of .204, SAPD records show.

An SAPD spokesman described the incident to KSAT as a “custodial arrest” for public intoxication but noted that Klein was allowed to later leave the sobering unit without being booked into jail and has no follow-up court appearances.

The records were released to KSAT as NEISD’s board remains deadlocked on whether to choose Klein from a group of four finalists for its vacant trustee position.

Klein, who has repeatedly come up one vote shy of being selected to replace the late Terri Williams as trustee for NEISD’s Single Member District 2, did not return a phone call and text message seeking comment for this story.

‘She was cussing me out the whole way.’

San Antonio airport police were called to the QMart in the 8900 block of Airport Boulevard just before 3 a.m. for an assault in progress report of a wife spitting on her husband.

Once at the scene, however, officers determined that Klein and the Uber driver were not related to one another.

The driver told police he picked up Klein from Cootey’s Tavern in the 8300 block of Jones Maltsberger Road.

Klein got into the vehicle and slammed the door, causing the driver to ask Klein not to do that, the SAPD report states.

Klein then became irate, so the driver stopped at QMart and ended the ride, the report states.

Klein “then exited his vehicle and tried to damage his vehicle door by kicking it” and then spit on him, according to the report.

The report states that the vehicle had no signs of damage on its door, and the man’s shirt no longer had visible signs of spit or wet spots on it.

Reached for comment, the driver told KSAT, “She was cussing me out the whole way. I got tired of it. So I ended the ride. She got out still cussing me. Then kicked my door. Then walked up to driver’s door and spit on me.”

He told KSAT Klein spit on his lower chin and upper neck, and he wiped it off after calling police because he didn’t want it on him.

The driver confirmed to KSAT that Klein kicked the driver’s side rear door of his vehicle twice but did not damage it.

He told KSAT he saw officers handcuffing Klein as he drove away.

KSAT Investigates last month reported that the district sued Klein for failing to pay property taxes in 2019 and 2020.

Klein owed a combined $8,429.14 in taxes, penalties and interest when she was sued by NEISD, Bexar County and the city of San Antonio in January 2022, lawsuit records show.

The most significant portion of that amount, $3,758.10, was owed to the school district Klein is attempting to represent, records show.

Klein emailed NEISD trustees on Oct. 27, a day after the article was published, “Like many, I struggled financially during the pandemic,” district records obtained by KSAT Investigates show.

In the email, Klein said the litigation has been resolved, and her tax obligation has been paid in full.

Bexar County court records, however, show that the suit is still pending as of this week.

During NEISD’s board meeting last week, she addressed trustees about school safety and said she has “had some baseless accusations hurled at me.”

She then told the board she would be the best choice to fill the vacant SMD 2 position.

“You need someone who is informed and invested in this community,” said Klein.

NEISD trustees Steve Hilliard, Marsha Landry and Diane Villarreal — all of whom have advocated choosing Klein for the vacant trustee position — did not respond to emails from KSAT seeking comment for this story.


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About the Authors

Emmy-award winning reporter Dillon Collier joined KSAT Investigates in September 2016. Dillon's investigative stories air weeknights on the Nightbeat and on the Six O'Clock News. Dillon is a two-time Houston Press Club Journalist of the Year and a Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Reporter of the Year.

Joshua Saunders is an Emmy award-winning photographer/editor who has worked in the San Antonio market for the past 20 years. Joshua works in the Defenders unit, covering crime and corruption throughout the city.

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