Off-Duty Police Involved in Brawl, Chase : Melee: One Newport officer is struck by a car in Anaheim Stadium parking lot. Another pursues alleged assailant onto freeway, firing several shots.

A scuffle that began when off-duty Newport Beach police officers tried to break up a fight in the Anaheim Stadium parking lot escalated into a freeway chase in which one of the officers shot at a fleeing car, police said Monday.

The Anaheim and Newport Beach police departments are investigating the incident and the officers’ actions. Two officers were injured, two men were arrested on suspicion of assaulting police, and the officer who fired his gun has been placed on a three-day leave, a standard procedure.

A man who said he witnessed the incident about an hour after Sunday’s football game was critical of the officers’ handling of a volatile situation.

“These guys, who nobody knew were police officers, were waving their guns freely,” said Martin Ibarra, 31, of Santa Monica. “In my opinion, if they had identified themselves right away, nothing else would have happened. These guys had long hair and beards. They didn’t look like police.”

According to Newport Beach Police Sgt. Andy Gonis, about 10 employees from that department, including officers and civilians, broke up a fight between two groups of men in the parking lot. Minutes later, several men from one of the groups returned and approached the officers, challenging them to fight, Gonis said.

One of the men punched Newport Beach Officer Dave Byington in the mouth, Gonis said.

During the scuffle, Larry R. Rodriguez, 25, of Carson, got into his car and drove toward one of the officers, striking him, police said. The officer, Dale Johnson, was later treated at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach for cuts, bruises and torn ligaments to his left knee.

Rodriguez then drove toward the Artesia Freeway, Anaheim Police Sgt. Steve Rodig said. Another off-duty officer, who was not identified, chased him onto the freeway and fired several times at his car, police said.

Minutes later, Rodriguez pulled to the side of the freeway and tried to run, police said. He was captured near the Carmenita Road off-ramp by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies and officers from the California Highway Patrol and Buena Park Police Department.

Ibarra, however, had a slightly different version of events.

He said he never saw the officers try to break up a fight, and that the only fight he witnessed was between the off-duty officers and three men.

Ibarra said two men squared off, and one officer was punched twice in the mouth. At that point the officers drew their guns, much to the amazement of Ibarra and his family.

“It had been a fair fight, no weapons or guns, but when the guy got popped again, the guns came out,” Ibarra said. “They wrestled him to the ground quickly and put a gun to him.”

The other two men fled, Ibarra said. One of them got in a Hyundai and drove directly at one of the officers, knocking him “pretty high in the air,” Ibarra said.

While one of the officers jumped into a pickup truck to chase him, the other officers, with guns drawn, fanned out to the onlookers and told them not to move, Ibarra said. One of the men aimed a gun at Ibarra’s father, calling him a “homeboy,” Ibarra said.

Within a few seconds another man approached, also carrying a gun, and told the Ibarras that they were Newport Beach police officers.

Anaheim police said the incident is under investigation. Newport Beach police said they are conducting an administrative review into their officers’ actions, particularly the officer who fired his weapon during the chase on the freeway.

The findings of both investigations will be submitted to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office for review.

Rodig said a preliminary review of the incident found no criminal wrongdoing on the part of the officers, including the one who fired his gun.

California Highway Patrol spokeswoman Angel Johnson said that shooting a gun during a chase is dangerous and that “our officers don’t shoot on the freeway because it could endanger the lives of other motorists. We just don’t do that.”

Officer Johnson said, however, that she did not know the circumstances of Sunday’s shooting.

Rodriguez was taken to Anaheim City Jail and booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. Bail was set at $50,000.

Anthony Velasquez, 25, of La Habra was arrested on suspicion of hitting an officer in the mouth. The officer required 15 stitches, police said.

Ibarra also said he saw no stadium security guards.

“That’s pretty sad, to think you are sitting there unprotected,” Ibarra said. “There could have been a lot of people hurt for no reason.”