Panel Upholds Officer’s Firing Over Beating

A former Oxnard police officer accused of repeatedly striking his brother-in-law with a police baton has lost a battle to get his job back despite his claim that he was punished harshly because he is Latino.

The Oxnard Board of Review, a committee appointed by the City Council, voted Monday to uphold Police Chief Robert Owens’ 1989 decision to fire Ray Centeno Jr.

“I think in light of what has been going on recently with concerns about police officers’ use of force that . . . it was appropriate not to reinstate someone like that,” Owens said.

The review board’s decision will be forwarded next week to the city manager, who has final say in the matter, city officials said.

The four board members at the meeting agreed that Centeno deserved some type of discipline and a majority voted to uphold his firing, Assistant Personnel Director Lino Corona said.

The board found that the department did not discriminate against Centeno because he is Latino, Corona said.

Centeno, 35, argued that other officers who have committed similar or worse offenses were not fired.

“I felt that I was improperly disciplined, and we can certainly show . . . that I might have been treated a little more harshly,” said Centeno, an officer for 10 years.

Centeno, who was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon in 1989, said that the beating occurred while he was off duty and that he acted in self-defense. Centeno, who is now employed as a private investigator in Camarillo, said he will appeal the city’s decision to Superior Court.

Owens said Centeno had a history of inappropriate behavior toward citizens but that none of the incidents involved excessive force. He said Centeno had been disciplined before, but he declined to comment further.

In a separate case, a Superior Court jury exonerated Centeno last month for alleged brutality in the 1987 arrest of a drunk-driving suspect.

An internal police investigation into Centeno’s altercation with his brother-in-law confirmed that the officer was clearly in the wrong, Sgt. Charles Dunham said.

“It’s obviously something that would concern us--that a police officer can be highly intoxicated off duty and for no apparent reason, not defending himself, just whale on somebody with a nightstick,” Dunham said.

On March 27, 1989, Centeno confronted David Castanon at the Sunshine Inn in Oxnard, according to a probation report. Centeno wanted to speak to Castanon about the alleged beating of Centeno’s sister, the report said.

Centeno asked Castanon where his sister was. Dissatisfied with Castanon’s answer, he pulled out his baton and began swinging, the report said. During the assault, the victim fell to the floor and tried to stop the blows. Centeno then suddenly stopped and left the room, the report said.

Castanon told officials that he was struck 30 to 40 times. He suffered a head cut and was treated at St. John’s Regional Medical Center. Centeno, who was found to have a 0.14% blood alcohol level, told the probation officer that he had drunk eight or nine beers that day.

Centeno told police officers that he was carrying his baton because his sister had told him that Castanon sometimes had a gun. He testified that he used his baton because he feared that Castanon was reaching for a weapon, court records said.

Centeno was sentenced to 30 days in Ventura County Jail for misdemeanor assault.