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CHP Officer Who Arrested Firefighter Beat Unconscious by Bar Patrons
March 7, 2010 9:53 AM
A California Highway Patrol officer who made local headlines when he arrested a Montecito fireman has been injured in a fight with three men in a bar and says he has no recollection of the incident.
Bakersfield police responded at 2:02 a.m. on Feb. 20 to reports of a man down at RJ's Bar & Grill in the northwest section of town. There, they found off-duty CHP Officer Joseph Rodriquez in need of medical assistance.
Police say differing witness accounts alternately have Officer Rodriguez attempting to break up a fight between two women and then getting jumped and beaten by three men or trying to intercede after a man began pushing a woman and getting beaten by six men, including one who smashed a beer bottle over the officer's head, according to Bakersfield Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Mary DeGeare.
Bakersfield police said that one of the two witnesses was an acquaintance of Officer Rodriquez, who was transported to the hospital and has since been released and returned to active duty according to CHP Captain Jeff Sgobba.
Bakersfield police say they have not yet spoken with Officer Rodriguez and asked about this, Capt. Sgobba said, "When a person gets hit on the head, they don't remember. He remembers going out to dinner, that's it. He doesn't remember anything else.
"He told me ... (after he was hit in the head) he thought he was in Santa Barbara and looking for his motorcycle."
Even with the memory loss, Capt. Sgobba said the officer is "still healthy enough to be on active duty."
Captain Sgobba would provide no additional information and instead directed questions to the Bakersfield Police Department.
"He went to the hospital and was not questioned," said Sgt. Mary DeGeare. "The responding officer opted to have someone contact him at a later date."
RJ's manager, Guy Adamson, told the News-Press he had no knowledge of any assault or police action in his parking lot on the date in question.
"If something happened, he would know about it," he said.
Representatives from the restaurant also said the establishment closes at 1:45 a.m.
No arrests have been made in the case.
Anyone with information about the incident should contact Kevin Findley of the Bakersfield Police Department at 661-326-3919.
Officer Rodriguez was also involved in an incident on Feb. 15, when he briefly arrested and handcuffed a Montecito Fire Protection District battalion chief who allegedly refused to move a fire truck that was blocking on-coming traffic in an attempt to screen firefighters working at the scene of a minor crash on Highway 101 near San Ysidro Road.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Roy Walker on
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Our problems with Leo's seem to relate to the few rather than all. I t seems to me that the oath sworn to by officers deals with protecting the populace. It boils down to exactly the same commitment that everyone in the emergency services tries to adhere to. I along with most of my brothers are hard pressed to see how that sentiment can possibly be forwarded by actions such as arresting a fellow responder during the coarse of an emergency activity . Surely the situation can wait until the conclusion of the call, at which time written complaints and charges can be filed through the normal channels. No one is pursuing a felon that will never be found and certainly no evidence is lost. Both sides are viewed by the public as acting in a professional manner and any dirty laundry can be cleaned in private
In short for those few members of the law enforcement agency that feel the need to act out for the sake of their egos as an authority figure ,REMEMBER ,when they pinned your badges on they also pinned on some level of maturity!
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Permalink Reply by Al Williams on
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I hope the ER did a colonoscope to ensure his badge wasn't shoved up his rectum.
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I really doubt that had it been a one-on-one fight the guy still wouldn't have hesitate to say he's a cop and reach for his badge for intimidation. It's the first thing they do. I don't give a "poop" about Karma myself. Some people just need a little tuning up, who cares who or how many people do it.
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First, I could care less about media reports. Bottom line is that if there was any merit to the charge in which this officer accused the Chief then why was the Chief released on the scene? Simple, because the charge was without merit and the CHP didn't want to make the situation worse than it was. The Chief's history has no bearing on what happened on that day, nor does the cops history either. Time on scene has no meaning either because whether the chief had cuffs placed on him 63 seconds or 12 minutes after arrival the main concern is that there were handcuffs placed on a fire battalion chief fo no apparent reason and his freedom and liberty had been taken from him for however amount of time. And that is the issue. All the other facts are useless. If the cop had a concern about the chief actions on scene he could have taken it up with his superiors who could have contacted the chief's superiors at the department. But instead he had to let the Battalion Chief no that he was the one with the gun and badge and so he was "the man" on that scene. I've seen that a number of times.
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Permalink Reply by Fireyladd - Retired Chief Sharp on
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No it was his swizle stick shoved up there
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Permalink Reply by Brian Dumser on
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Surely the situation can wait until the conclusion of the call, at which time written complaints and charges can be filed through the normal channels. No one is pursuing a felon that will never be found and certainly no evidence is lost.
Well said, Roy. They act like they're arresting Osama Bin Laden or something!
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"Instant karma's gonna get you..." - John Lennon
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