LAPD officer charged with pointing gun at men outside bar in 2016 off-duty incident
A Los Angeles police officer has been charged with assault after, prosecutors say, he pistol-whipped a man and pointed his gun at two others outside an El Segundo bar in 2016.
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Officer Joseph William Rooney, 33, was charged with four counts of assault with a firearm in connection with the May 2016 incident, according to a news release issued Tuesday by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
If convicted, Rooney could face up to 27 years in state prison, prosecutors said.
The men were standing outside of a bar in the 100 block of Main Street on May 22, 2016, when Rooney, who was off-duty at the time, approached them. He drew his handgun and pointed it at one man, then struck him in the face with the weapon, prosecutors allege.
He then aimed the weapon at the other men, before leaving, according to prosecutors.
Rooney is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday. He has been with the department for nine years, according to public records.
Rooney was last assigned to Newton Division, according to an LAPD spokesman, who declined to comment further on the issue.
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