APD Officer suspended indefinitely for breaking into ex's house

Austin Police Officer Michael Stone has been suspended indefinitely for breaking into his ex-girlfriend's house.

According to a memo about the suspension, the ex-girlfriend is a fellow officer. Interim Austin Police Chief Brian Manley issued the memo to the City of Austin, listing the suspension as  effective immediately.

Stone and his fellow officer dated "over the past few years," according to the memo. The woman cut off the relationship in July 2016. After failing to make contact with her, Stone reached out to a mutual friend. Their friend said he hadn't heard from her, but saw a photo of her on Facebook with another man. 

Stone went to her home in Kyle under "the pretext of checking on her welfare."  She refused to answer the door, so he then broke in and they had a verbal altercation. 

He went back to her house again in August, but a neighbor saw him and called 911. Internal Affairs interviewed Stone in October and December. IA said he tried to mislead them with his statements and withholding other information.

The memo also shows Kyle police responded to a disturbance call between Stone and the woman in May 2015. Even though he was required to report it to a supervisor he did not. 

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In November 2015, Stone and APD Officer Erik Witte was no-billed for the death of a man in custody. The two had responded to a 911 call in January 2015 at an H.E.B. on William Cannon. According to employees there, the man was ranting in the store. They had escorted him out when the officers arrived. Stone and Witte tried to restrain Robert Brandon Edwards but he resisted. Edwards collapsed and later died at a nearby hospital. The Travis County Medical Examiner listed a combination of drugs and the stress of the restraint as his cause of death.

According to the Austin Police Department, Stone has been on the force since October 2011. The City of Austin says he has 10 days to appeal the “indefinite suspension.”