SAN ANTONIO — An arbitration hearing to determine the fate of a former San Antonio Fire Department captain began Tuesday.
Captain Rogelio Loredo was placed on indefinite suspension after being accused of pointing a gun at two of his colleagues.
Christopher Solis, who worked with Loredo, told the hearing examiner that on the morning of Feb. 22, 2022, his colleagues told him Loredo was "pissed off." Later that morning as he walked outside, he saw Loredo get inside his truck, from which white smoke began to rise.
As Solis tried to get Loredo's attention, he says he heard his colleague Adrian Alvarado curse and take cover. That's when Solis noticed Loredo pointing a pistol at him and Alvarado, his other hand on the steering wheel.
Solis said when he tried to approach Loredo about what happened the next day, the then-captain said his finger was not on the trigger and the gun not loaded.
Solis admitted that he waited a few days to report what happened. In his statement, he wrote that he didn't think anything of it at the time and didn't feel threatened, nor did he feel like his life was in danger.
City of San Antonio attorneys Erika Sipiora and Erica Matlock argue the city is justified in indefinitely suspending Loredo. Meanwhile, his attorney, Ben Sifuentes, argues the gun being pointed was "agitation," which loosely can be defined as horseplay. Sifuentes also believes the city did not consider mitigation in order to reduce Loredo's penalty.
The hearing is scheduled to continue Wednesday.
>MORE LOCAL NEWS:
>TRENDING ON KENS 5 YOUTUBE: