Fired APD cop: Tensions escalated

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Former Austin police officer Leonardo Quintana testified Thursday in Day 3 of his appeal hearing in his fight to regain his job after getting fired a second time.

Editor's note: Due to KXAN Austin News policy to protect the identity of alleged domestic violence victims, the name of Quintana's ex-fiancee is excluded from this story.

During the testimony that went for more than an hour before the hearing took a lunch break, Quintana answered specific questions about the incident with his ex-fiancee -- which led to his second firing from the Austin Police Department.

Quintana testified on Thursday that his ex-fiancee and fellow APD officer was trying to stop him from getting into the home where they both lived when he came to take some cruise tickets.

He maintains he never physically assaulted the woman.

"I just walked through where she had her arm out, I never used my hands or pushed her, I just walked through it," Quintana testified.

The 911 calls to police and testimony from the female officer may have also been embellished according to Quintana who said the woman is manipulative.

"She can turn the tears on and off at will. I have seen her do it."

The hearing wrapped up on Thursday and surrounds a domestic violence investigation stemming from the alleged assaults in November 2008 and October 2009 on his then-fiancee, who is also an Austin police officer.

An arbitrator will have 30 days to make a ruling on Quintana's job after they receive the hearing's briefs in Mid-March.

The charges -- regarding incidents that happened throughout a time span of less than a year -- include:

November 2008

• criminal mischief    
• assault - family violence

October 2009

• criminal trespass
• assault - family violence

Answering questions from his attorney, Quintana said he was at the home where he used to live with his ex-fiancee when tensions escalated between the two after he asked her about new pictures in the home. Quintana said the pictures showed a man he suspected to be her new boyfriend.

The former officer said his ex-fiancee got angry and that they started to argue, leading up to her 911 call and screams for him to leave the home.

Quintana's ex-fiancee testified Tuesday , telling Austin Assistant City Attorney Mike Cronig that she was embarassed and that she did not want to cause problems for either of them, adding that was the reason she did not report it to authorities.

Cronig questioned Quintana's ex-fiancee the during the arbitration hearing and tried to establish Quintana's pattern of abuse and intimidation against her.

Quintana was not present at the hearing Tuesday.

Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo testified Wednesday against Quintana during the hearing.

Acevedo indefinitely suspended Quintana the first time over a January 2010 DWI charge. -- which Quintana later pleaded guilty to during his January trial three weeks ago.

Quintana won the fight to get his job back following the May firing, and an arbitrator reduced his indefinite suspension to a 15-day suspension -- a ruling the department said it was disappointed with.

Just six days later, however, Quintana again lost his job for the second time on October 27. The grounds for that firing surrounded an October 2009 domestic incident in which police were called to the home of his then-fiancee after an argument.

Leander police arrested Quintana on Nov. 9 on the four misdemeanor charges in connection to the alleged assaults on his ex-fiancee.

After Quintana posted an $8,000 bond, part of his bail conditions in regard to that incident include he not drink any alcohol or own, have or buy any firearms. In addition to Quintana's arrest surrounding those incidents, there was also an emergency restraining order against him preventing any communicatio n or contact with his ex-fiancee.

Quintana is known for his role in the East Austin death of 18-year-old Nathaniel Sanders in an early morning incident in May 2009 -- though his first firing had little to do with that.