Police to Investigate Charges of Brutality : Oxnard: Several young men say they were beaten at a party by officers, who defended their actions as self-defense.

Oxnard police officials have begun an investigation into an incident last week in which several young men said they were beaten by officers.

Police Chief Robert Owens said the investigation will “get further information to satisfy ourselves that the officers acted correctly.” He said he does not believe his officers are guilty of wrongdoing.

The investigation will be conducted by the department’s internal affairs unit and the results will be given to Owens.

The incident took place late last Friday night. At least four officers answered complaints of a loud party in the 1300 block of South E Street at the home of Luis Flores Sr. The incident turned into a bloody confrontation involving up to 12 party guests and 18 officers.

One police officer later reported that he struck two men on the head with a flashlight.

Owens said it is the usual practice to avoid the head when swinging a flashlight or nightstick, but he said the officer may have felt that he had no other choice since he was surrounded and was being tackled. “Sometimes an officer has to improvise,” he said.

Police arrested Anthony Flores, 22, on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, and his brothers Luis Flores, 24, and Alex Flores, 19, and another party-goer, Aurelio Raudales Guerrero, 19. They were accused of resisting arrest and interfering with an arrest.

Anthony and Alex Flores were treated at a hospital for head injuries. Officer Nelson Latimer was treated for a sprained wrist.

The Flores brothers were released on their own recognizance. Guerrero remained in Ventura County Jail Thursday because of arrest warrants, police said.

Anthony Flores and his brothers, all of whom had gashes and bruises on their heads and bodies, Thursday accused the police of brutality. They said some of the officers removed their badges, apparently in an attempt to conceal their identities.

They said the police attacked one party-goer for trying to take photographs of the fight.

“Where are the marks on these police officers?” Anthony Flores said. “If we came at them like they say we did--we are all big guys here--don’t you think we would have left any marks on them?”

Jean Farley, a supervisor for the Ventura County public defender’s office, said accusations of excessive force are frequently made against the Oxnard police.

John Hatcher, president of the Ventura County chapter of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, said the department has a reputation for arresting a disproportionately high number of minorities.

But he said he believes that if Owens finds evidence of police brutality he will discipline the responsible officers.

“If he is aware of a situation he will take action,” he said. “However, there are a lot of things that happen on the streets that he is not aware of.”

Police said the incident began when officers Nelson Latimer, James O’Brien and Clifford Waer and Reserve Officer Ron McCauley went to the single-family house after a complaint of a loud party.

Both sides agree that when Latimer began to talk to Luis Flores Sr. about the noise, Alex Flores questioned him. The stories diverge at that point.

Anthony Flores said Latimer tried to push him over a rail when he intervened between his younger brother and the officer. When Anthony Flores tried to grab Latimer to keep his balance, he said, another officer hit him on the head with a flashlight.

“The last thing I remember was his shoes, and that’s it,” he said.

Alex Flores said that when he jumped on his brother to keep him from being beaten further, another officer struck him on the head with a flashlight.

David Meza, 29, who also attended the party, said he was beaten and kicked for trying to take photographs. He said two police officers ripped the film from his camera.

Soon after, additional officers arrived, some of whom removed their badges before storming into the back yard where more than a dozen other guests were closing down the party, Anthony Flores said. There the police continued to beat and kick several members of the Flores family and other guests who tried to interfere, he said.

“When they broke that gate they were no longer officers,” Luis Flores Sr. said. “They were a mob.”

A police report by O’Brien said the altercation began when Meza made a derogatory racial remark about Latimer, who is black. When a brief shoving match at the front door ensued between Latimer and Anthony Flores, O’Brien intervened, the report said.

“With my flashlight I tried to strike Anthony to keep him from pushing or striking Latimer again,” O’Brien said in the report. However, O’Brien said, he missed and struck Alex Flores on the head.

Latimer and Anthony Flores continued to struggle and then fell, the report said. O’Brien struck Anthony Flores on the head twice after he tried to pull the officer to the ground by his pants legs, the report said.

During that struggle Latimer sprained his wrist.

At that point, O’Brien called his service dog, Max, to help disperse the party-goers, who then ran to the back yard, the report said.

Fourteen additional officers were called to the house. It took about an hour to disperse the party-goers and arrest the four men, police officials said.