2 Wounded by Off-Duty L.A. Officer : Police: Relatives of two men disagree with official account that the 2-year LAPD veteran identified himself as a policeman during the altercation.

An off-duty Los Angeles police officer shot and wounded two men during an early Friday morning confrontation outside a hamburger stand in Rowland Heights when one of the men began choking him and the other appeared to be reaching for something inside his jacket, authorities said.

But family members of the two wounded friends alleged that they were shot after they attempted to break up a fight between the officer and two women.

“It’s a shame,” said Diane L. Vallette, a family attorney. “I’m just not sure why officers, if they are involved in any kind of altercation, use a gun to end the altercation.”

The stepmother of Jason Corona, one of those shot, said family members also were upset upon hearing conflicting versions about what happened shortly before 2 a.m. at the Original Tommy’s World Famous Hamburgers at Colima and Fullerton roads.

“We’re just hearing several stories,” said Robin Corona. “The police first told his (Jason’s) mother it was a drive-by shooting and then they thought it was gangbangers. What we just found out was that it was police officers.”

Because the shooting occurred outside the city of Los Angeles, the criminal investigation is being conducted by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Sheriff’s spokeswoman Irma Becerra said the incident began when one of the officers, identified by the LAPD as two-year veteran Officer Salvador Silva, 23, became involved in an argument with Raymond Tapia, 23, of Ontario.

“The verbal disagreement turned physical when the suspect (Tapia) pushed and then began choking the officer,” Becerra said. “The officer broke free and took out his police identification, telling the man to stop.

“The suspect continued toward the officer and the officer started to take out his weapon. The suspect reached for the gun and the officer fired, striking the man.”

Becerra said Tapia’s friend, Corona, then “began reaching into his jacket.”

“The officer believed the man was arming himself and shot him.”

Sheriff’s officials declined to say whether Corona was armed.

Tapia was shot in the chest and was being treated at Whittier Hospital Medical Center. Corona was shot in the abdomen, with the bullet lodging in his hip. He was listed in stable condition at Brea Community Hospital.

Despite the sheriff’s version of events, Lt. Bill Hall, who investigates all officer-involved shootings for the LAPD, said he was waiting to contact several witnesses before making any conclusions about what happened.

“We’re still interviewing people and doing other things, so I’m not comfortable in releasing too much about what happened yet,” Hall said.

Brent Maire, general manager for the Tommy’s chain, said all of the employees were in the back of the building and had no idea what was happening.

Lt. Fred Nixon, an LAPD spokesman, said Silva, who is a patrolman at the Van Nuys station, has never been disciplined in an administrative Board of Rights hearing. A second officer, Hector Diaz, 33, who was with Silva at the restaurant, also has not been disciplined in an administrative hearing.

Relatives of Corona, a Southern California Edison meter reader, and Tapia, who works for a glass company in Vernon, said the two men never realized during the altercation that Silva or Diaz were police officers.

Jason’s father, John Corona, said he has been told that his son and Tapia heard Silva and Diaz arguing with two women at the restaurant. He said Tapia asked them, “Why don’t you guys cool it and leave the girls alone?”

John Corona said the four men then went outside, a fight broke out and the officers left. But he said they returned a few minutes later, continued to fight, and then Silva shot Corona and Tapia.

Vallette, the family attorney, added that the victims never would have fought with or choked the two men if they thought they were police officers. “It doesn’t make any sense,” she said.