Tijuana’s municipal police chief was removed from his post on Tuesday after a video surfaced showing officers beating a man inside a patrol vehicle. Mayor Ismael Burgueño announced the dismissal of Commissioner Fernando Ramírez Aznar and ordered an internal investigation into the officers involved.
Video Showed Officers Punching a Handcuffed Detainee
The incident, captured on a bystander’s cellphone, showed at least two uniformed Tijuana police officers striking a detained man who appeared to be restrained in the back seat of a patrol unit. The video circulated widely on Mexican social media over the weekend before drawing a formal response from the city.
Mayor Burgueño, who took office in October 2024 as part of the Morena party’s sweep of Baja California municipalities, moved quickly to distance his administration from the footage. In a press conference Tuesday at City Hall, Burgueño said the officers’ conduct was “unacceptable” and that Commissioner Ramírez Aznar bore institutional responsibility for the department’s behavior.
Ramírez Aznar had served as Tijuana’s police commissioner since the start of Burgueño’s term, roughly eight months. His replacement has not yet been named. The mayor said an interim chief would be appointed within days while a permanent search is conducted.
Tijuana Has Cycled Through Police Chiefs Amid Recurring Misconduct
The firing continues a pattern of high turnover at the top of Tijuana’s police force. The city has had more than a dozen police chiefs in the past 15 years, with tenures averaging well under two years. Several departures have followed public scandals involving excessive force, corruption, or ties to organized crime.
Under the previous administration of Mayor Montserrat Caballero (2021 to 2024), the department faced repeated accusations of abuse. In 2022, the Baja California State Human Rights Commission, known as CEDHBC, received over 200 complaints against Tijuana municipal police, the highest number for any local force in the state. Many involved allegations of unlawful detention, physical abuse, and extortion.
Tijuana’s police force employs roughly 2,500 officers to serve a metro area of over two million people. That ratio, about one officer per 800 residents, falls well below international policing benchmarks. The understaffing has long been cited as a factor in both crime rates and officer misconduct, with low pay and minimal oversight creating conditions where abuse can persist unchecked.
For context, the starting salary for a Tijuana municipal police officer is approximately 16,000 pesos per month (about $900 USD). Officers frequently work 24-hour shifts followed by 24 hours off, a schedule that police reform advocates say contributes to fatigue and poor judgment.
Internal Affairs Investigation Opened Against Officers in the Video
Burgueño said the city’s Asuntos Internos (internal affairs) unit opened a formal case against the officers visible in the video. He did not confirm how many officers are under investigation but said at least two face potential criminal referral to the FGE, Baja California’s state attorney general’s office.
The detained man’s identity has not been publicly released. Burgueño said the individual was receiving medical attention but did not specify the nature or severity of his injuries. The mayor also did not clarify what the man was originally detained for.
Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission, known as CNDH, has not issued a public statement on the case. But Baja California’s state-level CEDHBC confirmed it opened a preliminary file based on the video. The commission has the authority to issue non-binding recommendations but cannot impose sanctions directly on officers.
Police Reform Promises Tested Early in Burgueño’s Term
When campaigning for office, Burgueño pledged to professionalize Tijuana’s police force through better training, body cameras, and accountability mechanisms. The body camera program, announced in January 2025, was supposed to begin a pilot rollout in the Mesa de Otay and Zona Centro districts by mid-year. City officials have not provided a public update on that timeline.
The incident also comes as Tijuana prepares for its busy summer tourism season. The city’s San Ysidro border crossing processes roughly 70,000 northbound pedestrian and vehicle crossings daily, and thousands of U.S. residents cross southbound each week for medical care, dining, and recreation in the Zona Río and Playas de Tijuana areas.
Burgueño said he would announce the new police commissioner before the end of June. The internal affairs investigation is expected to produce preliminary findings within 30 days. This story was first reported by Zeta Tijuana and El Imparcial.