Off-duty officer arrested after allegedly assaulting man while tracking stolen phone

An off-duty school police officer was arrested in Beaumont after he allegedly assaulted a man while trying to retrieve his stolen cell phone.

It happened on February 7th in the 1200 block of Massachusetts Avenue.

According to Beaumont Police, Alejandro Brown, an off duty police officer with the city of San Bernardino's school district, went to the location to try and retrieve his lost cell phone.

Antonio Juarez tells FOX 11 he had found the phone on the side of the road, and brought it with him to his colleagues house at the incident location.

What he didn't know, was that phone belonged to officer Brown, he had been tracking it, and he showed up at the house to get it back.

"When he arrived, he confronted my client and two other persons in a violent way," said Rafael Rios, the attorney representing Juarez. "He came out with his badge, he had his gun, cocked his gun, basically demanded his phone, my client got his phone from his jacket pocket, came out and gave it to him, and he ordered him to put it on the ground while he was pointing his gun at him. He bent down and put it on the ground and he pistolwhipped him, knocked my client out."

Juarez described the moment to FOX 11.

"I was really scared, I saw the gun and I thought I was going to die in that moment, I thought he was going to kill me," Juarez said. "I remember waking up and I could feel that I was hurt, and i was injured, and i knew that I was still alive but I was scared he was going to come back and do something."

Juarez said the beating left him with three facial fractures and an immediate distrust of police.

Beaumont PD arrived on scene and arrested Brown.

He faces charges of battery causing serious injury, brandishing a firearm, and assault under the color of authority.

He has since bailed out of jail.

Juarez and Rios are calling for Brown to be fired.

His school district said he is on paid administrative leave.

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