By Caitlin Antonios
San Bernardino County Sun
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — A man identified as an off-duty San Bernardino Police Department officer was arrested in the mountain community of Blue Jay on Sunday on suspicion of discharging his gun into the air, officials said.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department deputies arrived at Dogwood Tavern in the 27000 block of Highway 189 after multiple reports that shots had been fired just before 2 a.m. Sunday.
Fidel Ocampo-Rodarte, a sworn officer for three years, was with friends drinking at the business when he walked outside, pulled out his service weapon, and fired multiple rounds into the air, the San Bernardino Police Department said in a news release Monday.
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The group remained in the parking lot and more shots were fired in the air. Rodarte and his friends then fled in various cars.
Surveillance video of the incident circulated online.
Rodarte turned himself in at the Twin Peaks Sheriff Station later that day without incident after deputies were unable to locate him after speaking with witnesses and searching the surrounding areas. The Sheriff’s Department sent out a press release regarding the arrest, but did not mention Rodarte’s employment with the San Bernardino Police Department.
A search warrant served at Rodarte’s home led to the recovery of several firearms. Rodarte was arrested and booked into West Valley Detention Center on suspicion of negligent discharge of a firearm and placed on administrative leave.
“I’m extremely disappointed at what I have been told so far and what I saw on a copy of the business surveillance video...While I will withhold judgment until the investigation has concluded, I will tell you that this is not what I expect, and this is not conduct that represents the vast majority of our officers,” San Bernardino Police Chief Darren Goodman said in a statement.
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