Repo Man Says Police Beat Him After He Sought Help : Inquiry: Complainant says he was in a hail of gunfire while fleeing the scene of a repossession and hoped to attract attention of officers. He succeeded.

An auto repossession worker, fleeing from a man who was firing at him, sped the wrong way down Beach Boulevard early Friday trying to attract police--a move he later regretted, he said.

The repossession man, John L. Stephens, 32, of Anaheim, alleged Friday that the officer who stopped him also beat him with the butt of a shotgun. Police confirmed that an investigation of Stephens’ allegation of brutality was underway but that they had no indication that undue force had occurred.

According to both Stephens and police, the complicated episode began about 3 a.m. Friday.

Stephens said he and Ray Marquez, 28, of Ontario were on an assignment by Elite Auto Recovery of Fullerton to pick up a 1991 Jeep Wrangler in Huntington Beach. The Jeep was at the home of Reginald Ponsford IV in the 18000 block of Patterson Lane, Stephens said.

“Ray and I drove to that house about 3 a.m., and the Wrangler was parked in the driveway,” Stephens said. “I was able to get into it because the passenger door was open, and I made a key to start it.”

Stephens said he drove the Jeep away, followed by Marquez.

“About a mile later, I was surprised when this (car) sped up, spun in front of the Jeep and a man jumped out with a gun,” Stephens said. Stephens made a quick turn and drove away “as fast as a Jeep can go.” Stephens said the pursuer fired about eight shots.

Three shots also hit Marquez’s car, one of which broke out the rear window. Marquez was not injured.

Stephens said he and Marquez became separated in the chase.

“I was trying to find police, and when I came to Beach Boulevard, I drove down the wrong side of the road trying to attract them,” Stephens said. He succeeded near Beach Boulevard and Warner Avenue, when officers ordered him to pull over.

“I pulled into a gas station there and got out and did what police told me to do,” Stephens said.

He said he laid on his stomach as ordered and was being handcuffed when the officer hit him six times in the head with the butt of a gun.

Marquez said he arrived moments later.

“I saw John sitting there with his face all bloody,” he said.

Stephens said he was held at Huntington Beach Police headquarters from 3:30 a.m. until 8 a.m. Friday and was then freed. He said he has contacted a lawyer.

The man who allegedly fired at Stephens, Bradley Ponsford, 25, of Huntington Beach, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. Ponsford, a patrol officer for the Los Angeles Housing Authority, was identified as the brother of the man whose Jeep had been repossessed.

Ponsford, who has worked for the Housing Authority for four months, has been placed on administrative leave with pay as required under department policy, said Housing Authority Lt. Willie Thompson. Housing Authority officers work with the Los Angeles Police Department to patrol 21 low-income housing projects across the city. The officers have the same powers as municipal police while on patrol.

Meanwhile, Stephens’ partner, Marquez, was charged on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly aiming his car at Ponsford’s, Officer Michael Corcoran said.

Corcoran said no charges had been filed against Stephens. He also said that nothing in the police report of the incident suggested that police used undue force.

“I was told force was used but nothing excessive,” Corcoran said.

Stephens said he refused paramedic treatment at the scene.

“I just wanted to get out of there, plus I didn’t want the expense,” Stephens said. But later in the day Stephens said he planned to see a private doctor for cuts and bruises on his head.