On the night of September 5, 2023, Valerie Elizondo pulled into the drive-through at the Whataburger on West Cypress Street, expecting nothing more than a late-night meal. Instead, her lawsuit says she found herself face-to-face with a VIA Metropolitan Transit Police officer who had no business initiating a stop there.

According to the complaint, Officer Brandon Tamayo pulled in behind her, ordered her to move off to the side, and refused to tell her who he was or why he was stopping her. Elizondo says the interaction turned physical almost immediately. Tamayo allegedly opened her passenger-side door, shifted her vehicle into park, took off her seat belt, and struck her before twisting her arm and dragging her out of the car. As she was being walked toward a patrol unit, another officer shoved her against it, worsening her injuries.

A supervisor arrived shortly afterward and ordered Elizondo’s release, telling her the officers believed the car was stolen. Elizondo says the car belonged to her partner and that the real issue was that a dealership had mistakenly put the wrong plates on it. She says that mix-up shouldn’t have led to violence — especially from an officer she describes as having a long track record of problems.

Elizondo filed suit in federal court, naming Tamayo and the VIA Metropolitan Transit Police Department. She argues the stop, the force used, and the detention all violated her Fourth Amendment rights and that VIA failed to properly screen or supervise Tamayo despite years of documented issues. She is seeking more than $100,000 in damages.

A Disciplinary Trail VIA Already Knew About

Internal disciplinary records obtained through public-information requests paint a picture of an officer who was repeatedly counseled, reprimanded, or suspended long before the Whataburger encounter.

One early incident dates back to January 2021, when Tamayo pulled over a 20-year-old who admitted to drinking and driving on the wrong side of the road. VIA policy required him to call a DWI-trained officer, but he didn’t. Instead, he issued minor citations and let the driver go. Supervisors documented the mistake and warned him about future violations.

Records show that in August 2022, body-camera footage captured Tamayo taking about $35 from a marijuana suspect and sticking it inside a cigarette box and a head scarf — not in the evidence system where it belonged. VIA reminded him, again, about basic procedures.

In May 2022, a safety review found that Tamayo sped through a non-emergency response, waited too long to activate his lights, and followed a speeding vehicle too closely. He received a written reprimand and instructions to correct course.

Then came the night of September 5, 2023 — the same night as Elizondo’s stop. VIA suspended him for two days without pay, concluding that Tamayo attempted an investigative stop in a Whataburger drive-through that wasn’t transit property, shut off a driver’s vehicle himself, and removed the driver from the car. Supervisors wrote that the stop violated multiple departmental standards and had no connection to VIA’s jurisdiction.

More trouble followed. In January 2024, two motorists filed complaints after encounters with Tamayo. In one case, he initiated enforcement without notifying a supervisor. In another, the stop escalated when a driver refused to give him a phone number. VIA found that he mishandled interactions involving “police auditors,” detained pedestrians improperly for minor crosswalk violations, and gave verbal warnings — something VIA’s traffic policy specifically forbids. He was suspended again in May 2024.

A month later, VIA reprimanded him for stopping a bicyclist at 3:52 a.m. and issuing no citation or written warning. Again, the issue wasn’t the stop — it was that VIA requires written documentation every time.

Leaving VIA, and a Short-Lived New Job

Tamayo resigned from VIA on March 26, 2025, saying he was giving two weeks’ notice to join the Bexar County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office. TCOLE records show he held a peace-officer license at VIA from June 2020 through March 2025. He started at the constable’s office five days before officially leaving VIA.

His time there didn’t last long. On September 15, 2025, Chief Deputy Raul M. Ramírez notified Tamayo that he was being terminated as a probationary employee. He was not eligible to appeal.

Another VIA Lawsuit — And a Settlement They’re Trying to Keep Quiet

Elizondo’s lawsuit comes as VIA is already dealing with the fallout from another civil-rights case — one with some uncomfortable parallels.

In late 2023, First Amendment auditor Marcos Rios sued VIA officers and security personnel over encounters he recorded near Centro Plaza. Rios claimed officers targeted him because he films police interactions and posts them online. In one incident, he alleges an officer threw him to the ground and handcuffed him; in another, his camera was seized and he was charged with trespassing. He spent 18 hours in jail and later said he and his wife were followed by patrol cars.

Court records show the case — Rios v. Perez, No. 5:23-CV-1310-KC — settled in late 2025. But what VIA agreed to is still secret. A letter VIA’s general counsel sent to the Texas Attorney General on December 8, 2025, says the agency delivered settlement funds to Rios on September 24, 2025 and received written confirmation on December 5, 2025. The agreement, approved by a federal judge, requires VIA to get the Attorney General’s permission before releasing any details.

VIA argues that revealing the settlement would expose legal strategy and that litigation related to the case might still arise — a position that allows governmental bodies to withhold records under the Texas Public Information Act. VIA is now asking the Attorney General to let them keep the settlement permanently sealed.

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