An off-duty Los Angeles police officer was arrested Wednesday in San Bernardino County on suspicion of allegedly following a fellow bar-goer into a bathroom and stabbing the man, according to sources with the Los Angeles Police Department.
Arthur Contreras, 55, was arrested at about 3:14 p.m. Wednesday by Upland police at a home in the city of nearly 70,000 on the western edge of San Bernardino County. He was booked into the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.
He was released from jail after posting $40,000 bail, and has an initial appearance at at Rancho Superior Courthouse in Rancho Cucamonga set for Friday morning.
It was unclear whether he had an attorney.
An LAPD personnel roster shows that Contreras is an officer with the Detective Support and Vice Division and joined the force in 1995.
Specifics about the incident weren’t immediately known, but a department source with knowledge of the case said the alleged attack occurred around lunchtime Wednesday at an unnamed bar. Contreras is suspected of following a fellow bar patron into a bathroom, where the off-duty officer allegedly tried to stab the man in the chest but instead cut the man’s arm, according to the source.
Capt. Kelly Muniz, a police spokesperson, Thursday confirmed Contreras was an LAPD officer. She said Contreras has been put on administrative leave but referred further questions to the Upland Police Department.
The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday morning.