SAN ANTONIO – An airman is suing the City of San Antonio after she said San Antonio police officers pulled her over and unnecessarily held her at gunpoint, according to a lawsuit obtained by KSAT Investigates.
Joi Hebron, who has served in the Air Force for nearly 20 years, said the fear that she felt in July 2024 has stuck with her.
“I thought, then and now, my life was in danger,” Hebron told KSAT Investigates.
Hebron spent more than a year in San Antonio. She said that she was selected to be a military training instructor at Lackland Air Force Base.
At approximately 4:30 a.m. on July 15, 2024, court records show that Hebron left her Northwest Side home to head to the base. She was wearing her Air Force physical training uniform.
“I was spotted leaving the area, and I was followed by (an) SAPD officer for what, to me, felt like a lifetime,” Hebron said.
Within minutes, records show that officers pulled Hebron over near Loop 410 and Babcock Road, despite noting that she drove at normal speeds and followed traffic.
“There were three police car lights that came on behind me,” Hebron recalled. “And, of course, I’m shook.”
“Do you have any clue as to why you were pulled over?” KSAT asked Hebron.
“Not one,” Hebron responded. “Not a clue.”
Records show that officers ordered Hebron to get out of her truck at gunpoint and then handcuffed her. Officers questioned Hebron about who owned the truck and what was in it.
KSAT Investigates filed a records request to obtain a copy of the footage from the traffic stop. The City of San Antonio has asked for permission from the Texas attorney general’s office to withhold the video due to Hebron’s lawsuit filed against the city.
Hebron is seeking damages from the City of San Antonio, which includes lost income and attorney fees.
“This is not an enemy,” Hebron said. “I’m not a terrorist. I’m on U.S. soil. I had on my Air Force PT gear, which had an Air Force emblem on the back of my shirt. Never were the guns lowered.”
Hebron said that she thought the military and law enforcement were “always on the same team.”
An incident report shows SAPD officer Robert Garcia ran Hebron’s license plate near La Cantera, which came back as stolen. Garcia wrote in the report that he pulled her over once other officers could come and help.
Once Hebron was in handcuffs, records show that Garcia realized he incorrectly entered her license plate and released her from custody.
“This woman could have been killed if she had done anything other than what they asked her to do,” Hebron’s attorney, Markes Kirkwood, told KSAT.
Kirkwood believes the stop should never have happened.
“Ms. Hebron was stopped because she was a Black woman in a predominantly white neighborhood in a nice-looking truck,” Kirkwood said. “And she was stopped for no reason.”
KSAT Investigates reached out to SAPD for an interview. The department did not make anyone available, but a spokesperson provided a statement.
“At this point, there is no indication that the SAPD stop was anything other than human error and not prompted by racial profiling or discrimination,” the SAPD statement read. “We regret that the person was detained briefly before the error was corrected.”
Hebron is still serving in the Air Force, but is now stationed in another state. She said the trauma from the stop led her to give up her position at Lackland Air Force Base.
“On eight deployments, I was never diagnosed with PTSD, not on one deployment. But after this traumatic incident, I was,” Hebron said. “My life will never ever be the same. This is something I have to carry on forever.”
The lawsuit, which claims the stop was unconstitutional, is still undergoing the legal process.
The City of San Antonio has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.