BAYTOWN, Texas – Jeft Sprecaher said he still doesn't understand why an off-duty Baytown officer wouldn't stop attacking him.
Sprecaher, 19, said it all started as he was sitting in a car with a girl he was seeing. Sprecaher said all of a sudden the girl's mother pulled up into the parking lot and told her daughter to get out of the car and then threatened him.
"She started saying, 'Oh, I’m going to call my husband he is going to handle it. My husband is a cop,'” said Sprecaher.
Sprecaher said the woman then refused to leave and blocked his car. He said the woman's husband then showed up and immediately attacked him.
“He aggressively tried to open the door and broke my door handle,” said Sprecaher.
Sprecaher said the off-duty officer broke his car window and managed to get him out and punched him multiple times and then began to choke him.
“He kept choking me as hard as he could and that's when I fell to my knees and I started losing consciousness in my hands and feet,” said Sprecaher.
Officers finally arrived to the scene and took a statement from Sprecaher.
“An officer like that shouldn't be allowed on the force,” said Sprecaher.
The officer has since been put on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. Sprecaher has hired an attorney and plans to seek criminal charges.
Baytown police released the following statement:
“The Baytown Police Department takes allegations of wrongdoing or misconduct by our officers very seriously. The trust and confidence of our community is paramount and as such we hold our officers to the highest levels of integrity as well as moral, ethical and professional standards. Failure to adhere to those standards will not be tolerated and will be dealt with in accordance with our departmental policies and the law. As such, an investigation into this incident has been initiated and the Officer in question has been placed on Administrative Leave with Pay pending the outcome of the investigation. We ask that the community continue to place its trust and confidence in our organization and the men and women of the Baytown Police Department who don the badge and uniform every day and proudly serve with integrity, honor and professionalism.”