One San Antonio police officer struck his wife with a gun and pointed the weapon at his children.

Another officer sexually assaulted a woman and violated a no-contact order against her.

And a third officer pursued a vehicle despite knowing a toddler was in the back seat, running four red lights and four stop signs at speeds of more than 100 mph, according to police suspension reports on the three separate incidents.

The accused are among five officers recently fired by the city, yet awaiting hearings in hopes of winning back their jobs.

The odds are in their favor.

In the past seven years, arbitrators overturned or reduced five of 13 disciplinary rulings on appeal — and all five were terminations, according to city officials.

“Practically speaking, it’s like (Police Chief William McManus) gets overturned every time,” said U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, who is pushing for reform.

Recently, a retired major general in the Air Force who works as a local arbitrator overturned the termination of a police officer, Michael Garza, who pursued his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend and fatally shot him in the back as he tried to get inside his Northwest Side house.

At Garza’s hearing, the San Antonio Police Officers Association defended the officer by citing its contract with the city.

“In arbitration conducted under the guidelines of (the city’s) Collective Bargaining Agreement … the burden of proof lies with the employer to show that the discipline imposed met the contractual standards for discipline,” the union stated. “The Association carries no burden whatsoever.”

On Wednesday, Castro met with District 8 Councilman Ron Nirenberg to discuss how to pursue reform.

“I think it would be a mistake to consider the fact that the collective bargaining negotiating is simply about dollars and cents,” Nirenberg said after the meeting. “It’s also about reaffirming the culture of policing that we know exists, is emerging and needs to continue in San Antonio.”

There are cracks in that culture, according to the suspension reports.

In 2013, in an argument with his wife, Officer Daniel Lopez “fired a single shot from a 40 caliber handgun into the ceiling of the master bedroom in his home,” and a month later “hit (his wife) with his gun and pointed the gun at her and at his children,” according to a suspension report.

Lopez was fired in February 2015.

Officer Jose Arzola III was terminated the following month when a drug test detected marijuana in his system.

Officer Lance Little was fired in April 2015 for multiple violations, according to suspension reports.

In 2014, a woman told investigators that Little “had sexual intercourse with her against her will.” (The case was dismissed by former District Attorney Susan Reed because the woman signed a “complaint waiver,” a police spokesman said.)

The same woman also “admitted she lied (to investigators) at the request of Officer Little … falsely stating that Officer Little had not abused his son by kicking in a door and choking the boy.”

Investigators also found that Little had threatened a man who asked him to keep his bulldog on a leash, saying, “I’m going to drop you,” and, “You’re going to hit me first,” before walking away.

Officer Leroy Medlin Jr., was fired in May 2015 for pursuing a fleeing vehicle “without the required authorization,” chasing it at high speeds for five miles despite “knowing a toddler was inside the suspect vehicle,” a report stated.

And Officer Felix Tijerina was fired that same month for lying about an incident at a strip club, where he “ingested intoxicating beverages,” then struck a parked Suburban while trying to leave in his truck and fled the scene. Tijerina was “untruthful” to a sergeant investigating the incident, a report stated.

On Wednesday, Mayor Ivy Taylor said “there probably should be some discussion” in the stalled contract negotiations about reforming police discipline.

“I just don’t want people in the community to have the impression that punishment is not commensurate with any inappropriate behavior,” she said.

More importantly, police serving the community should not have that impression.

bchasnoff@express-news.net