Officer Accused of Assaulting Teen

An Oxnard police officer has been placed on restricted duty after he was accused of battering a 17-year-old boy, authorities said Wednesday.

Officer Larry Robertson was pulled from patrol duty and told to work in the station indefinitely after a reported incident outside his home about 3:30 p.m. Sept. 23, Sgt. Lee Wilcox said.

The teen said he was assaulted by Robertson in an alley behind the officer’s central Oxnard home, Wilcox said.

The officer, who was off duty at the time, maintains he acted in self-defense during an argument with the youth.

After the incident, the teen went to a nearby high school and called police. Robertson also called police, alleging two teen boys were spray-painting graffiti in his alley.

The district attorney’s office is reviewing a misdemeanor battery charge against Robertson, Wilcox said. No charges were filed against the teen because there is no evidence he was involved in the vandalism, Wilcox said.