A story that first made headlines nearly a decade ago has taken a new turn, and not a quieter one. A former San Antonio police officer whose career became the subject of two highly publicized misconduct investigations involving fecal matter has been appointed police chief of a small South Texas city.
The appointment is drawing renewed scrutiny from the public and press alike, and the department’s response has done little to cool things down.
Matthew Luckhurst officially began serving as Benavides Police Chief on June 1, according to Texas Commission on Law Enforcement records reviewed by KSAT. The city of Benavides sits roughly 150 miles south of San Antonio and has a population of around 1,100 people. It is, by any measure, a small town. Yet, small towns can generate very large headlines.
Luckhurst was approved for the promotion during an April 30 city council meeting and will be paid $28 an hour, according to council records reviewed by KSAT. When reporters from the station reached out to confirm the details, the Benavides city secretary reportedly hung up on journalists multiple times rather than provide what is considered basic public information. That response, or lack of one, has only added fuel to an already lit fire.
The Allegations That Followed Him
The incident at the center of Luckhurst’s history dates to May 2016. According to a disciplinary report detailed by KSAT, Luckhurst bragged to a fellow officer that he had picked up some feces, placed it in a slice of bread, and put it in a Styrofoam container next to a homeless man.
Luckhurst was a five-year veteran of the San Antonio Police Department and had been assigned to downtown bike patrol at the time. The case became one of the most infamous police misconduct stories in San Antonio in recent memory.
As reported by KENS 5, Luckhurst was also accused in a separate incident involving a feces-like substance smeared in the only women’s restroom at SAPD’s bike patrol unit.
In 2020, then-San Antonio Police Chief William McManus described the allegations as “probably one of the most disgusting, vile, repulsive things that anybody has ever done,” according to KENS 5.
A Career That Refused to Stay Buried
Luckhurst’s post-SAPD employment history is its own story. SAPD initially fired Luckhurst over the sandwich incident, but he later won his termination appeal.
According to The San Antonio Current, an arbitrator sided with Luckhurst in 2019 after finding SAPD had not served discipline within the required 180-day window. That ruling was procedural, not a clean ending to the controversy.
Luckhurst remained off the beat because of the separate restroom case. According to later reporting from The San Antonio Current, an arbitrator upheld SAPD’s second firing of Luckhurst in June 2020.
After his time with SAPD ended, Luckhurst found work with the Floresville Police Department in 2022. His employment there ended days after media reports highlighted his hiring and renewed public scrutiny over the incidents from San Antonio.
The San Antonio Current reported that Floresville City Manager Andy Joslin confirmed Luckhurst was fired on Dec. 13, 2022. Joslin also said he was reviewing the department’s hiring practices, including its reserve officer program.
Rather than stepping away from law enforcement entirely, Luckhurst later landed with the Benavides Police Department. Records cited by KSAT show he has worked for the department since April 2023.
Prior to his promotion, records also show Luckhurst obtained a School-Based Law Enforcement Officer license in April 2024 while employed by the department.
What the Department Has Said
The Benavides Police Department has leaned on a second-chance narrative since Luckhurst’s initial hiring became public earlier this year.
According to News4SA, the department defended Luckhurst’s hiring by saying his record since joining the department had been exemplary, with no complaints or issues reported. The department also said a thorough background check had been conducted before he was sworn in as a peace officer.
The department framed the original hire as a reflection of its commitment to giving individuals an opportunity to demonstrate their value in public service. The promotion has renewed debate over whether that second-chance argument should extend to the top job.
The Arbitration Question and What It Means
The arbitration rulings have become a central part of the discussion surrounding Luckhurst’s career.
The first ruling helped him win back his job after the sandwich case because SAPD missed the disciplinary deadline. The second ruling went the other way, with an arbitrator upholding his firing over the separate restroom incident.
The 2019 ruling did not erase the allegations. It meant the department failed to meet a required deadline. The latter ruling allowed SAPD’s second termination to stand.
Luckhurst has denied the sandwich allegations, and the Benavides Police Department has pointed to his clean record since joining the department. Still, the allegations have followed him through multiple law enforcement jobs.
Now He Runs the Department
The Benavides Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment following news of the promotion, according to News4SA. The silence is notable given that the department was vocal in defending the original hire just months ago.
Luckhurst now holds the top law enforcement position in a town of roughly 1,100 residents, overseeing what amounts to a very small department in a rural stretch of South Texas.
His promotion has revived public attention on a case that first made national headlines nearly a decade ago and continues to generate strong reactions whenever his name returns to the news.