MONTEBELLO >> Investigators arrested a former Montebello police corporal Wednesday on a charge of assault under color of authority for slamming a tagging suspect’s head into the pavement during a 2014 arrest, according to authorities, as well as county court and booking documents.
Mark Jason Ryan, 37, is charged with one felony count of assault by a public officer in connection with an alleged on-duty attack, which took place on Halloween of 2014, according to a felony complaint for arrest warrant filed against the former officer April 5 in Los Angeles Superior Court. The charge followed an investigation that lasted more than 17 months.
Los Angles County Sheriff’s Department deputies, who have been investigating the case, arrested Ryan on a warrant about 10 a.m. Wednesday, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court and booking records.
According to the complaint, “(Ryan) assaulted and beat Anthony Acosta under color of authority, the defendant being then and there a public officer, to wit, Montebello Police Department Corporal.”
Ryan responded to a report of two men tagging in the 2100 block of West Whittier Boulevard, district attorney’s officials said in a written statement.
While arresting one of the men, “Ryan allegedly slammed one suspect’s head into the pavement,” according to the statement.
Acosta was 26 years old at the time of the alleged attack, records show.
He ultimately pleaded “no contest” to a count of vandalism, and admitted the crime was gang related, and received a one-year prison sentence in March of 2015, district attorney’s office spokeswoman Jane Robison said.
Prosecutors declined to discussed the level of injury suffered by the alleged victim. Further detail regarding the circumstances of the alleged assault were not available Wednesday afternoon.
Ryan retired from the Montebello Police Department early this year, Montebello Police Chief Kevin McClure said.
The chief declined to comment further regarding the case or the incident, deferring to investigators in the district attorney’s office and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
According to Ryan’s online resume, he left the Montebello Police Department in February after 13 years as an officer, and is now working as a real estate agent. Ryan also served in the U.S. Army from 1999 to 2003, according to the profile.
Ryan served as Montebello Police Officers’ Association president last year.
According to prosecutors and county booking records, Ryan was released on a $35,000 bail bond Wednesday pending his arraignment hearing, scheduled May 4.
If convicted as charged, Ryan faces up to three years in state prison.