SUMMARY OF HSGAC INQUIRY INTO ALLEGATIONS INVOLVING SHERIFF ED GONZALEZ

Prepared by HSGAC Majority Staff

OVERVIEW: HSGAC staff conducted a bipartisan inquiry into an alleged report of domestic violence involving
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, nominee to be Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Department of
Homeland Security.

BACKGROUND: The allegations appear in a July 30, 2021 affidavit from former Houston Community College
(HCC) police officer, Fredrick Portis, and they were first brought to the Committee’s attention in a March 7, 2022
letter from the National ICE Council. The affidavit was filed in an ongoing sexual harassment and discrimination
case against HCC, to which Sheriff Gonzalez is not a party. In the affidavit, Mr. Portis states that he was called to
HCC Chancellor Cesar Maldonado’s office to interview Dr. Melissa Gonzalez – then an HCC employee –
regarding an allegation of domestic violence against her husband, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. Mr. Portis alleges that he
attempted to interview her, but Chancellor Maldonado refused to leave and would not let Dr. Gonzalez speak. In
his affidavit, Mr. Portis referenced two items with the potential to corroborate his claims – an investigative report
and bodycam footage of his interview of Dr. Gonzalez.

HSGAC INQUIRY: Chairman Peters and Ranking Member Portman jointly requested the investigative report
and bodycam footage referenced in the affidavit. Additionally, staff interviewed several individuals, including Mr.
Portis and Dr. Gonzalez, regarding the events described in the affidavit. Majority and Minority staff participated
in all interviews and information requests. The Committee’s findings are summarized below.

In an interview with Committee staff, and in sworn testimony, Mr. Portis stated that he did not prepare or
file a written report of any kind. In his affidavit, Mr. Portis refers to “the investigative report on Mrs.
Gonzalez’s domestic complaint,” and states that “the investigative report was provided to the Chief of HCC
Police.” However, he told Committee staff that he did not, in fact, prepare any written report regarding the events
described in the affidavit. During a March 23, 2022 deposition, Mr. Portis also stated, under oath, that he did not
prepare or submit a written report.

There are several additional discrepancies between Mr. Portis’ affidavit and his subsequent statements and
testimony. For example, he refers to “Mrs. Gonzalez” several times throughout the affidavit. However, during his
interview with HSGAC staff and in his deposition, Mr. Portis stated that at the time of the incident, he did not
know the identity of the woman in the Chancellor’s office, and at no point did he ask for her to identify herself.
He was also unable to specify how or when he learned who she was, stating during his deposition that “it was
later identified who she was.” Additionally, Mr. Portis states in the affidavit, “I and the other HCC officer went to
Chancellor Maldonado’s office to investigate the complaint.” However, during his interview with HSGAC staff
and in his deposition, Mr. Portis said that he arrived on his own and the other officer was not present until “the tail
end” of the incident.

In response to a formal request from Chairman Peters and Ranking Member Portman, HCC, through
counsel, stated that the bodycam footage described by Mr. Portis does not exist. HCC’s outside counsel
explained to the Committee that they reviewed all of Mr. Portis’ bodycam footage from the relevant time period
and found no footage of Dr. Gonzalez or Chancellor Maldonado. HCC’s counsel also stated that HCC’s third-
party bodycam software provider confirmed that no footage from Mr. Portis had been deleted from their system.

All three other individuals Mr. Portis claims were present for the events described in the affidavit state that
those events did not take place. The affidavit identifies three other individuals present for the incident described
– Dr. Gonzalez, Chancellor Maldonado, and a second HCC officer, Sergeant David Moore. All three adamantly
deny that any of the events ever took place. Sergeant Moore has asserted in a sworn affidavit that the events
described in Mr. Portis’ affidavit did not happen. In addition to a written statement Dr. Gonzalez provided in
March 2022 denying the allegations, she spoke at length with Committee staff and unequivocally denied making a
domestic violence complaint against Sheriff Gonzalez.