A man fired twice for misconduct is now running a police force in South Texas.

Matthew Luckhurst became police chief of Benavides on June 1, 2026. The town has about 1,100 people. It sits 150 miles south of San Antonio. The city council voted to promote him on April 30. He earns $28 an hour.

His story starts in San Antonio in 2016. Luckhurst was a five-year SAPD officer on the downtown bike patrol. He told a coworker what he had done. He picked up dog feces. He put it between two slices of bread in a Styrofoam box. He left the box near a homeless man. The man did not eat it. SAPD Chief William McManus called it "vile" and "disgusting."

A second case came up that year. A female officer asked coworkers to keep the women's restroom clean. Days later, someone went to the bathroom in there and left a mess on the seat and wall. They accused Luckhurst in that case too.

SAPD fired him. In 2019, an arbitrator threw out the firing. SAPD had missed a paperwork deadline. Luckhurst came back to work and got back pay.

In 2020, a second arbitrator ruled on the restroom case. That one upheld the firing. Luckhurst was removed from SAPD for good.

He did not stay out of law enforcement for long.

In 2022, Floresville PD hired him as a reserve officer. Floresville is a small city about 30 miles southeast of San Antonio. Word got out about his past. Residents were angry. The city fired him on December 13, 2022. Mayor Cissy Gonzalez-Dippel said the city would tighten its hiring rules.

Benavides hired him anyway, just four months later. He joined the department in April 2023. The old Benavides chief, Andre Hines, said they ran a background check first.

Texas law requires background checks for all peace officers. The checks cover criminal history. They do not always catch past firings at other agencies.

Luckhurst kept building his resume. In April 2024, he got a license to work as a law enforcement officer in schools.

Two years after joining the force, the city council voted to make him chief.

Benavides put out a statement defending the decision. "Despite past allegations, Officer Luckhurst's record since joining the department in April 2023 has been exemplary, with no complaints or issues reported. A thorough background check was conducted before he was sworn in as a peace officer, ensuring that all aspects of his history were carefully considered."

The city did not hold a public meeting to discuss the promotion before the vote.

A San Antonio chalk artist named Lakey Hinson broke the story on social media. Her post spread fast. KSAT and the SA Current both picked it up.

KSAT reporters called Benavides City Hall for public information. City Secretary Tiffany Bazan hung up on them. She did it more than once.

The city has not said how many applied for the chief job. It has not said who else was in the running.

Benavides is a quiet town. Many people farm or drive to bigger cities to work. The police department is small. The chief is the top cop in town.

Luckhurst now holds that job. He sets the rules. He hires officers. He runs every patrol on those streets.

The state pulled his peace officer license after the second SAPD firing. He had to reapply to work in law enforcement again. He was cleared. Texas has no law that stops a fired officer from working at a new agency.

This is not new in Texas. Cops fired for bad acts have moved to smaller towns for years. Some say the system lets bad officers skip around. Others say people deserve a second chance.

Benavides chose to give Luckhurst a second chance. Then a third. Now a fourth, as chief.

Two departments fired him. A third made him chief.