Burbank Melee Caused Minor Injuries : 2 Officers, 3rd Man Charged in Brawl

Criminal charges have been filed against two Los Angeles police officers and a Burbank resident accused of engaging in a bar brawl that resulted in minor injuries to several people, the Burbank city attorney’s office reported Tuesday.

Sgt. Christopher Bonilla, 32, and Officer Oscar Jimenez, 28, each were charged Monday with one misdemeanor count of fighting in a public place and disturbing the peace, said Burbank Deputy City Atty. Jim Root. Bonilla was also charged with one count of misdemeanor battery, Root said.

Both officers are assigned to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Wilshire Division, said department spokesman Cmdr. William Booth. Bonilla is an eight-year veteran of the department and Jimenez has been with department since January, 1988, Booth said.

Robert Martinez, 29, whom Bonilla accused of knocking over a beer bottle and provoking the May 10 fight, was charged with one count of fighting in a public place and disturbing the peace, and one count of battery, Root said.

Arraignment Scheduled

All three men are scheduled to be arraigned July 7 in Burbank Municipal Court, Root said.

Booth said the officers have not been disciplined pending the outcome of an internal investigation by the department, which is expected to be completed in three to four weeks.

“We are aware of the charges and we are conducting our administrative investigation into the same issues,” Booth said.

Bonilla and Jimenez were among six officers who scuffled with Martinez and a bartender, two cocktail waitresses and two bouncers after Martinez allegedly knocked over the beer bottle in the bar of the Black Angus restaurant at 235 S. 1st St., Burbank, police said.

Several people suffered minor injuries in the brawl, including one man who required stitches after being struck in the head with a bottle, said Burbank Police Sgt. Don Goldberg.

The melee started as a shouting match and ended after several officers dragged Martinez out a side door and handcuffed him face down in the parking lot, authorities said. Bartender Ronnie Ortiz said officers put him in a chokehold when he tried to protect the waitresses, who he said had been pushed by the officers.

Authorities said there was not enough evidence to charge the other four officers.