PRESIDIO — At Tuesday night’s meeting, the Presidio City Council approved City Administrator Pablo Rodriguez’s decision to offer Daniel Zurita a position as the new police chief. The decision came after a few hours of deliberation in closed session with three “very qualified” individuals, Rodriguez said.
Zurita said he has not seen a contract yet and he still has questions about the offer, so his hiring is not yet final, but that he is looking forward to the position. Rodriguez said he traveled out of town on Wednesday, which was causing the delay.
Zurita would be the fourth chief of police the city has had since last year. In the fall of 2023, former Chief of Police Margarito Hernandez resigned in the midst of confusion about the city’s Operation Lone Star funding. The city said that the department had lost its opportunity to apply for $212,000 in reimbursement from the border security grant because of Hernandez’s failure to fill out the required reports, while Hernandez maintained that he had not been properly instructed on the reporting requirements and found that they distracted from his police work.
Damian Hernandez took over the department two weeks later but resigned in February. The City Council appointed Erik Rodriguez in April, but Rodriguez resigned a month later, citing personal matters. City leaders tried to keep a positive outlook throughout the turnover and sought to find a permanent leader for the department.
Zurita would be coming to Presidio from San Antonio from a recent position at Texas Lawman Security & Traffic Control Services, a private security company, and at the Somerset Police Department, where he has experience in grant writing and detective work. He boasts two decades of law enforcement experience and is an Iraq veteran with an extensive leadership record.
The Big Bend Sentinel discovered that San Marcos police arrested Zurita for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in April 2015 after he fired his pistol several times into an 18-wheeler on Interstate Highway 35 while serving as a Wilson County reserve deputy. He was released the same day on a surety bond and all charges were dismissed, according to court records.
Zurita told The Sentinel that the driver of the 18-wheeler sideswiped his car, and he pulled in front of it assuming they would stop to survey the damage. However, Zurita said the 18-wheeler rammed his car, he was dragged on the highway as he was trying to exit it, and the driver was attempting to ram him again when he fired to try and stop the truck. Zurita said he also identified himself as a deputy.
A Bexar County fire chief also was at the scene attempting to help him, he said. When San Marcos police arrived, they arrested him because he was not in a patrol car or in uniform, and officers wanted to make sure who he was and what had happened, Zurita said. “I survived that incident, but it was pretty grueling,” he said. “He was trying to kill me.”
Zurita has also been working on continuing his education, recently earning a master’s in public administration and is continuing to work on a Ph.D. in public policy and administration. He was excited to bring his experience and a “high energy level” to Presidio. “Throughout my career I have attained strong analytical, technical and tactical response skills,” he wrote to Rodriguez in his cover letter.
Rodriguez said that the city would normally be hesitant to shoot for an outside hire, but that Zurita was familiar with the area and could offer a fresh perspective. “He’s highly qualified,” It’s a great opportunity for Presidio.”
This story was updated from a June 20 article to make clear that Zurita had not officially accepted the position yet and to include information on his 2015 arrest — with additional reporting from Rob D’Amico. And the article was corrected to show that a Bexar County fire chief was at the scene, not a deputy.