AUSTIN (KXAN) – An Austin police officer lost his job Friday after associating with a known prostitute at Fiesta Gardens in East Austin in February, one who he had reportedly “dated” several times.

Officer Manuel Garcia was arrested on charges of prostitution on Feb. 2. Both the Special Investigations and the Internal Affairs units of the Austin Police Department investigated Garcia’s case for any criminal and policy violations.

“In determining the appropriate discipline in this case, I took into consideration the fact that Officer Garcia’s actions constitute criminal conduct, the serious nature of his policy violations, and the negative impact of Officer Garcia’s conduct on the Austin Police Department and the City of Austin,” said Chief Art Acevedo in the disciplinary memo.

According to the memo, police detained Garcia in February at 7:16 p.m.

He was reportedly parked with Teresa Gail Little in a dark, unlit area of the parking lot in an area known for drugs and prostitution. Police told Garcia that Little is a known prostitute and drug-user, to which Garcia said he was aware of — though he told police he did not know she used drugs.

Garcia told them he knew Little and had seen her several times — adding that he has tried to help her out in the past through some hard times. That day in February, he told police he was taking her something to eat.

Little told police she knew Garcia as “Luis” and that they had “dated” several times. She went on to tell police that both had agreed she would perform oral sex for $10.

The officers contacted their superiors and shortly after arrested Garcia on the prostitution charges. Meanwhile, police arrested Little on warrants and took her to headquarters downtown to give a sworn statement about the details of the arrangement she had with Garcia.

During the stop, Garcia was allegedly dishonest with the officers in several aspects.

Garcia admitted to Internal Affairs about lying to the officers when he told them he was not currently working anywhere and that he did not have a weapon in his car, according to the memo.

Garcia reportedly told Internal Affairs that he had in fact lied to the arresting officers about even knowing Little. In addition, he later told investigators that he had never seen her before and that she had suddenly jumped into his truck and would not get out.

“Despite evidence to the contrary, including but not limited to, the $10 bill that was found folded up in the air conditioning vent of his truck when he was arrested, Officer Garcia denied to Internal Affairs that he had an arrangement with Ms. Little for her to perform oral sex on him,” said the memo. “Instead, Officer Garcia claimed that the officers ‘put that into’ Ms. Little’s mind and ‘obviously’ ‘led her on.”

In-Depth: Free movie costs APD officer his job

The news of Garcia’s firing comes a day after learning another Austin police officer recently lost his job over a free movie.

Frank Corpus reportedly represented himself as a security officer at a South Austin movie theater in order to get a free ticket and then was not honest with investigators after the theater complained.

According to a disciplinary memo made public Thursday, Acevedo said Corpus violated several department rules and undermined his effectiveness because of the incident in October at the Regal Westgate Theater.

The officer has 10 days to appeal the chief’s decision to fire him.

AUSTIN (KXAN) – An Austin police officer lost his job Friday after associating with a known prostitute at Fiesta Gardens in East Austin in February, one who he had reportedly “dated” several times.

Officer Manuel Garcia was arrested on charges of prostitution on Feb. 2. Both the Special Investigations and the Internal Affairs units of the Austin Police Department investigated Garcia’s case for any criminal and policy violations.

“In determining the appropriate discipline in this case, I took into consideration the fact that Officer Garcia’s actions constitute criminal conduct, the serious nature of his policy violations, and the negative impact of Officer Garcia’s conduct on the Austin Police Department and the City of Austin,” said Chief Art Acevedo in the disciplinary memo.

According to the memo, police detained Garcia in February at 7:16 p.m.

He was reportedly parked with Teresa Gail Little in a dark, unlit area of the parking lot in an area known for drugs and prostitution. Police told Garcia that Little is a known prostitute and drug-user, to which Garcia said he was aware of — though he told police he did not know she used drugs.

Garcia told them he knew Little and had seen her several times — adding that he has tried to help her out in the past through some hard times. That day in February, he told police he was taking her something to eat.

Little told police she knew Garcia as “Luis” and that they had “dated” several times. She went on to tell police that both had agreed she would perform oral sex for $10.

The officers contacted their superiors and shortly after arrested Garcia on the prostitution charges. Meanwhile, police arrested Little on warrants and took her to headquarters downtown to give a sworn statement about the details of the arrangement she had with Garcia.

During the stop, Garcia was allegedly dishonest with the officers in several aspects.

Garcia admitted to Internal Affairs about lying to the officers when he told them he was not currently working anywhere and that he did not have a weapon in his car, according to the memo.

Garcia reportedly told Internal Affairs that he had in fact lied to the arresting officers about even knowing Little. In addition, he later told investigators that he had never seen her before and that she had suddenly jumped into his truck and would not get out.

“Despite evidence to the contrary, including but not limited to, the $10 bill that was found folded up in the air conditioning vent of his truck when he was arrested, Officer Garcia denied to Internal Affairs that he had an arrangement with Ms. Little for her to perform oral sex on him,” said the memo. “Instead, Officer Garcia claimed that the officers ‘put that into’ Ms. Little’s mind and ‘obviously’ ‘led her on.”

In-Depth: Free movie costs APD officer his job

The news of Garcia’s firing comes a day after learning another Austin police officer recently lost his job over a free movie.

Frank Corpus reportedly represented himself as a security officer at a South Austin movie theater in order to get a free ticket and then was not honest with investigators after the theater complained.

According to a disciplinary memo made public Thursday, Acevedo said Corpus violated several department rules and undermined his effectiveness because of the incident in October at the Regal Westgate Theater.

The officer has 10 days to appeal the chief’s decision to fire him.