Former Trinidad employees file wrongful termination lawsuit against city after water issues come to light

TRINIDAD, Texas - Another lawsuit has been filed against the North Texas town of Trinidad, this time after two employees say they were unjustly fired in relation to last week's arrests over the city's water quality concerns.

Former Trinidad employees file lawsuit

Alex Estrada worked for the City of Trinidad for more than three years, most recently in its Street Department. His sister, Colby Reyes, was the city's former Water Clerk.

They've filed a lawsuit that claims Cynthia Dosier, the City Administrator, fired them both on the same day because the former Water Clerk "refused to lie" on behalf of Dosier and Trinidad Police Chief Charles Gregory.

Estrada's lawsuit claims Chief Gregory publicly fabricated a story that Reyes was frightened by a protestor outside of Trinidad City Hall last week in order to arrest him.

The lawsuit alleges the Water Clerk put in writing she was "never offended" by the protestor, but Dosier fired both employees "on the very same morning," and "without any legitimate cause."

The lawsuit lists Dosier, Gregory and the City of Trinidad as defendants. Dosier did not respond to FOX 4's request for comment.

Previous Trinidad arrests

The backstory:

The protestor arrested last week was one of two individuals arrested in Trinidad over the city's water concerns that have raised free speech concerns.

Winston Noles, a citizen journalist who runs a YouTube channel called Otto the Watchdog, livestreamed his protest at Trinidad City Hall with a sign that read "*expletive* bad cops" last Thursday.

He was arrested and charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct for the sign. A municipal judge has since dismissed the charges against Noles.

In early May, Jennifer Combs was charged with felony false alarm by the Trinidad Police Department after making an April Facebook post concerning the city's water issues.

Her post stated that people had been hospitalized after drinking the city's water, which Chief Gregory said Combs’ post "creates fear, panic, or unnecessary emergency response within a community."

A Henderson County grand jury declined to indict Combs, who has since filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Trinidad and Gregory which alleges she was arrested in "an act of deliberate political retaliation."

Trinidad water issues

FOX 4 continues to receive images of dirty, discolored water coming from Trinidad. Combs described the city's water supply as looking like "the Trinity River is flowing from their water taps."

A water boil had previously been issued for Trinidad on Apr. 21, several weeks after both Combs' post concerning the water problems. The boil was lifted on Apr. 23.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) confirmed to FOX 4 it received a complaint regarding the water quality in Trinidad, and that an investigation is ongoing.

The law firm representing Estrada and Consumer Wellness Center Labs are organizing free independent water testing for people on Trinidad's water supply as the TCEQ investigation continues.

City officials have not shied away from discussing the water issues Trinidad has had. No hospitalizations from the water have been confirmed.

Dig deeper:

FOX 4 obtained documents from the Henderson County District Attorney and County Attorney alerting credibility concerns towards Chief Gregory in 2022 and 2024, when he worked at a different department.

The documents allege that Gregory "made false statements to an officer who was then an officer with the Trinidad Police Department."

When asked for comment, Gregory cited the pending lawsuits as a reason for not speaking.

"This is sad the way Trinidad’s going"

What they're saying:

"This is the wrong reason that the city is on the map for."

Estrada tells FOX 4's David Sentendrey he believes the issue with the city's water lies within the underground system that brings water from the water tower. "They didn’t maintain the water lines correctly, in my opinion."

The lawsuit claims: "Plaintiffs were fired because Colby Reyes refused to lie on behalf of defendants to cover up an unlawful arrest, because Alexc Estrada filed a formal written complaint of public-concern misconduct against the City Manager (Administrator), and because each plaintiff stood on the wrong side of the City's retaliatory machine."

His lawsuit states that Dosier told him and his sister: "I’m firing you, and honey, I’m firing you too. Y’all are done here."

"I know that God’s got us, in all honesty. The truth will come out," Estrada said.

Trinidad's mayor speaks

Dennis Haws believes an outside agency needs to investigate the entire situation in Trinidad, and suggested the Texas Rangers should take a look.

"There’s been enough smoke — and we need to find out if there’s a fire," Haws said.

On Chief Gregory's role in the story, Haws said: "He’s going to have to at some point make some sort of statement about what his thoughts were."

What's next:

On Thursday, the Trinidad City Council is scheduled to debate firing its newly-hired city attorney, as well as the municipal judge who dropped the charges against Noles.

Haws says he was not consulted on the meeting's agenda.

"That’s our focus and that’s what we’re going to put out there? For everybody that’s watching?" Haws said. "Instead of dealing with the water?"

What you can do:

Any residents using Trinidad's water who want to take part in free testing can email TrinidadWater@gfalaw.us for more information.

TexasEnvironment