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San Antonio Police Department officer was suspended for 30 days after she was accused of causing a disturbance at a real estate awards show where she had been hired to perform as a DJ. Officer Kristie Bush, who performs under the name DJ Kristie Rose, was originally facing a 45-day suspension but it was shortened after she met with SAPD Chief William McManus.
The incident occurred on March 16 at the University of the Incarnate Word's Rosenberg Sky Room. UIW PD and later SAPD officers responded to the scene. According to body-worn camera footage, Bush loudly interrupted the host while he was giving a speech on stage and cursed loudly, yelling "Let's f***ing party!" A woman attending the event told police that Bush had been sitting next to her son and was "super drunk and loud."
Bush, 32, claimed she had played some music as attendees arrived for the awards show hours earlier. However, she repeatedly complained that she had not been paid and that her contract stipulated payment before beginning her set. The event host asked Bush if she thought he could run an event without paying her, to which she responded that she didn't think so.
A second off-duty SAPD officer, Jonathan Kavanagh, was also involved in a heated confrontation with the event host and a friend of the host. However, Kavanagh was not disciplined over the incident. Bush told officers she had two alcoholic beverages, but later said she had only one drink. Multiple UIW officers remarked that Bush had bloodshot eyes and was slurring her speech.
Bush argued with UIW police as they refused to let her briefly go to her vehicle, saying "I'm not going to stand here and look like a f***ing criminal." She eventually left the venue without performing her set. Bush's SAPD discipline paperwork states that she used intoxicants, was discourteous to the public/fellow employee, conducted herself in a way prejudicial to good order, and was unfit to report for duty.
No one was criminally charged following the gala incident, and it did not result in a criminal complaint being filed. Bush's suspension is effective immediately, according to city discipline records.
