EPPD Off-Duty by Rodriguez and Hinojos

The El Paso Police Department has a Policy and Procedures manual that all officers must follow. This manual includes a section that governs outside employment, often called off-duty employment. You may read the full manual by clicking here.

The pertinent section of this policy that I will be addressing is:

I want to focus on the following:

Section 900.4 Restrictions

B. Work hours may not conflict with the employee’s performance of duty.

C. Officers will adhere to all policies and procedures of the Department while involved in outside employment.

D. Outside employment is limited to 25 hours per week. In the event the Officer is scheduled for a mandatory overtime assignment, this does not count towards the 25 hours.

Not long ago, I sent a Freedom of Information Request, and what follows is that request:

When officers work outside employment, such as at Sam’s Club, Walmart, or the Housing Authority, officers are required to call in, over the radio, at the start and end of a shift. We are requesting the CAD history for the following Ocean numbers for the past 18 months:

Ocean 2157

Ocean 2598

Ocean 1848

Ocean 2199

Ocean 2506

These Ocean numbers are for the following officers:

CHRISTOPHER JONES BADGE #2199

JEROME HINOJOS BADGE #1848

LT ROBERT YADOUGA BADGE #2598

FRANK RODRIGUEZ BADGE #2157

JEFFERY HARVEL BADGE #2506

In addidtion, we would llike the CAD history to inculde all outside employment, to also include TxDot and Stonegarden.

Two (2) Officers are not following the Department’s Policy and Procedure manual in that one allegedly works more than twenty-five hours per week, and another, on at least one occasion, worked and off-duty when scheduled for regular duty.

Who are we talking about? Lt. Frank L Rodriguez Jr and Detective Jerome Hinojosa.

Frank L Rodriguez Jr. worked as a Police Lieutenant for the City of El Paso, Texas, and in 2023 had a reported pay of $55.08/HR according to public records. That same year, he worked a total of 557.29 hours of overtime.

“Frank is always talking about how many hours he puts in on off-duties,” says an Officer from the Westside Regional Command. “He brags about it and kind of rubs our noses in all the money he makes.”

While assigned to the Northeast Regional Command, Rodriguez habitually left work early to arrive on time for his off-duty hours. He would give financial advice as if he were a broker and, as many Officers have said, brag about how much money he makes and the cost of his home.

Not long after arriving at the Westside Regional Command, Rodriguez fell into the same pattern of activity.

“He should be removed from his off-duty,” says a senior officer assigned to Five Points. “Some sort of punitive act must come for him to understand that the rules also apply to him.”

Frank Rodriguez allegedly works more than twenty-five hours per week off-duty. When the FOIA request for his hours was made, the plan was to log the number of days and hours worked per week, and determine if what the Officers said about him had any basis. What we received may violate Texas law.

You may view the full document we provided about Rodriguez by clicking here. Below is an image of one section that was provided to us.

The spreadsheet provided to us has hashmarks where the date and times should be noted. In contrast, the City of El Paso provided us with the spreadsheet for Det. Hinojos shows all dates and times.

“Some officers are given a heads-up when you FOIA something,” says another Officer with the El Paso Police Department. “They know what you are asking for, and can block you from getting the whole truth.”

A notification must be made to the Texas Attorney General’s Office to redact the date and time. This City of El Paso notification would indicate what is being redacted and why. In the case of our request, no such notice was made to the AG’s Office. The following is an example of what that notice would look like. To read a complete letter to the AG’s Office, click here.

“He’s [Rodriguez] portected by Zina. We all know that,” says an Officer at Five Points. “Nothing is going to touch him because of Zina. Look at his history. Rodriguez treats officers like trash. One Officer filed a hostile work environment against him, and nothing happened. Yet, Rodriguez filed one against that same Officer, and that Officer was moved to Mission Valley. Lt’s are protected here. IA won’t do anything to them.”

Sadly, there is some truth to what that Officer has said. We’ve sent requests to the El Paso Police Department and the City of El Paso requesting what should happen to officers who violate the policies for working beyond twenty-five hours per week. Over the last year, both the City and the Department have refused to respond.

In 2017, the El Paso Times wrote about an Officer who worked excessive hours, which led to him falling asleep and someone dying.

Not following policy and procedure is not limited to uniformed Officers. Detective Jerome Hinojosa has also violated these policies.

On 20 March 2025, Hinojosa worked off-duty for the El Paso Housing Authority.

We requested the list of days Hinojos took off, and 20 March 2025 was not one of them.

A class of Officers, Lieutenants and above, is exempt from following Departmental policy and procedures. Lt. Jones, from Northeast El Paso, and Rodriguez, from the Westside, Detectives like Hinojos, SIU — if an officer decides not to show up to work, they still get paid, and it’s not considered dereliction of duty.

Like Lt. Jones, Hinojos works Monday through Friday. However, it seems that Hinojos decided not to show up for work and double-dip, collecting money from the City of El Paso and his off-duty.

“This is criminal, unethical behaviour,” says another Lieutenant with the El Paso Police Department. “There are two sets of rules here, one for officers in the streets, and one for those with rank, like mine. It sickens me, and disgusts me. This is how the Department has been since Allen was Chief.”

There needs to be accountability and change. Suppose you were to read what Peter Pacillas submitted to Cary Westin to be considered for Chief of Police. In that case, you’ll see that Pacillas speaks of accountability, transparency, and integrity. As Maury Povich would say, “That was a lie.”

That application is below: