El Paso commission sustains 3-day suspension for animal control officer over documentation failures

The El Paso Civil Service Commission on an unspecified date voted unanimously to exclude new evidence submitted after a hearing and to sustain a hearing officer’s recommendation that Animal Services Officer Brian Dominguez be suspended for three days for failing to complete required BMR (vaccination/registration/inventory) documentation following a multi-dog inspection.

Hearing Officer Patricia Palafox, who wrote a 14-page recommendation, told the commission she had already summarized the facts and would address the question of newly submitted evidence after presentations by Dominguez and the city attorney. Dominguez told commissioners he filed additional material "after the hearing" because, as a nonlawyer, he only realized from the hearing officer’s recommendation and a civil service email that he could submit supplemental evidence. "I submitted this information later so it could get a sense of how things have been done prior and after my inspection," Dominguez said.

Assistant City Attorney Matt Marquez urged the commission not to consider the late brief and evidence, saying Dominguez had a full, multi-day hearing with 11 witnesses and "over a 185 pages worth of exhibits." Marquez said Dominguez "had the full and fair free opportunity to present his whole case" and characterized the later photos and calls as issues already addressed at the hearing.

Commissioner Romero Lucero moved that the commission not accept the late evidence; after discussion of procedural rules (including a deadline described in the packet and staff’s reminder that new evidence must have been unavailable at the time of the hearing), the commission voted to exclude the materials. The clerk reported four votes in favor and no nays; the result was described as unanimous.

With the late evidence excluded, commissioners considered the hearing officer’s recommendation. Central to the dispute was whether Dominguez failed to complete mandatory documentation for a biting incident and large number of animals at a private property. The hearing officer’s report noted Dominguez "admits that documentation was never discussed" and emphasized that the missing BMR checks and animal profiles were the basis for discipline.

Dominguez told the commission he followed his senior officer’s instruction to close the call after being unable to get inside the property and after the homeowner refused access. "I took that decision based on what was told to me through my senior," he said. Dominguez also said he took photographs at the scene and called his senior, but he said he could not safely verify every animal inside the property.

Interim Director Michael Wachsman of El Paso Animal Services told commissioners the department applies a disciplinary matrix and that a three-day suspension is the presumptive penalty for the level of performance violation cited. "We wanna make sure, the animal that potentially had killed an animal, does not have rabies," Wachsman said when explaining the importance of vaccination/VMR checks in bite investigations.

After limited final remarks and staff guidance about the standard of review, Commissioner Romero Lucero moved to sustain the hearing officer’s recommendation of a three-day suspension; Commissioner Carlos Gonzales seconded. The commission voted to sustain the recommendation; the clerk announced the motion passed unanimously.

The commission recorded two formal actions: (1) a vote to exclude late-submitted evidence and (2) a vote to sustain a three-day suspension for Dominguez for failure to perform required documentation. Commissioners discussed policy access and chain-of-command procedures during deliberations and were advised by staff that rejecting the hearing officer’s recommendation could require the commission to rehear the case de novo. The meeting concluded with a unanimous motion to adjourn.

What’s next: The commission’s decision stands as the final administrative action in this record unless the appellant pursues further administrative or judicial review; the transcript did not specify any next procedural steps or appeal deadlines.