The Hermosa Beach Fire Department has launched an internal investigation into an allegation that fire engineer and arson investigator Darryl Powers displayed a handgun “in a rude, angry or threatening manner” while he was off duty at a bar in Sunset Beach, Fire Chief David Lantzer said.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department was continuing to interview witnesses to determine whether any laws were broken.
A patron of Turc’s Cocktails called sheriff’s deputies about 11 p.m. Wednesday, July 7, to report that a man had displayed a gun inside the bar, sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said.
He said an off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy and an off-duty Hermosa arson investigator – identified by Hermosa Fire Chief David Lantzer as Powers – were allegedly “playing with knives” inside the bar.
Powers allegedly stuck a knife in a table, and when someone commented on the knife play, Powers allegedly displayed a gun, Amormino said. No allegations were made against the off-duty deputy.
Part of the sheriff’s investigation aims to determine whether the gun could have been displayed accidentally, Amormino said.
Orange County sheriff’s deputies detained Powers in connection with “a misdemeanor crime of displaying a weapon in a rude, angry or threatening manner,” Lantzer said in a prepared statement.
Powers was taken to a nearby police station and then was released to a Hermosa Beach Fire Department captain, authorities said.
Orange County sheriff’s officials notified the Hermosa fire and police departments of the incident, and Lantzer asked the Hermosa Beach Police Department’s internal affairs sergeant to conduct an investigation.
Powers remained on duty, Lantzer said. ER
