28-05-2025
Hero bouncer beaten by off-duty cops for stepping in when one was assaulting his wife
A restaurant bouncer is being praised as a hero for stepping in when an off-duty police officer was allegedly assaulting his wife.
Jaiden Perkins, 25, broke his silence after he allegedly caught Officer Dylan Davis, 33, outside a California restaurant, shoving and choking his wife.
The Ventura County Sheriff's Office released a statement after the March 30 incident, confirming that Davis and another officer, Anthony Malagon, 27, were arrested and placed on administrative leave due to a 'domestic incident.'
Nearly two months after the alleged attack, Perkins is still grappling with what happened during his shift at the El Rey Cantina in Camarillo, a city north of Los Angeles.
Perkins told KTLA that the sequence of events began when Perkins noticed Davis' wife crying at a table with her friends.
Surveillance footage revealed Davis allegedly pushed his wife before she returned to sit with her friends.
'She's just frantically crying, seemed very not at ease, very shaky. I ask her if she's okay and she tells me nothing,' Perkins said.
He added that her friends said she was okay, and he continued his shift. The group then exited the bar.
The situation escalated when Perkins claims he heard shouting outside and rushed out to see Davis assaulting his wife.
'He shoved her down. She got back up and he just started choking her,' Perkins recalled.
He said that the altercation prompted him to intervene and he allegedly informed Davis that he 'cannot be touching a lady like that.'
Perkins said Davis then allegedly threatened to 'kill' him and swung on the left side of the bouncer's face.
Perkins told the Ventura County Star that the behavior was unlike him, confessing, 'I'm very hands-off.'
'If something happens, I intervene, but I don't intervene physically.'
When the off-duty cops allegedly threatened to kill Perkins, he replied, 'You're not killing anyone, man. I just called the police.'
Perkins told the VC Star that one of the officers then allegedly taunted back, 'You mean my buddies? I'm a sheriff.'
The bouncer allegedly hit Davis back, but Perkins said Malagon intervened, and the two deputies tackled him to the ground.
'In the moment, I thought, "I'm never going to see my children again,"' he told KTLA.
Perkins told the outlet that the recovery from the alleged assault has been brutal, and he's had to quit his security job due to the trauma.
He also had to leave his job at the grocery store and as an Amazon delivery driver because of the physical toll.
Emergency authorities arrived on the scene after the alleged fight, and Perkins was rushed to a local hospital.
He was diagnosed with a locked jaw, loss of consciousness, a concussion, and head and neck injuries, according to a claim filed by Perkins' lawyers.
The claim also alleges that the officers discriminated against Perkins as an African American man.
The claim seeks $10,000 for medical bills, $50,000 for loss of earnings, $500,000 in general damages, and $500,000 in punitive damages.
Maximiliano Galindo, the attorney representing Perkins, told KTLA that Malagon has multiple family members serving in the sheriff's office
Perkins told the VC Star that he doesn't believe the officers 'deserve any inkling of mercy.'
'They didn't give me any,' he added.
'It's sad that it's supposed to be Protect and Serve, and I was the one protecting his wife that night.'
Maximiliano Galindo, the attorney representing Perkins, told KTLA that the officers' behavior was 'hotheaded.'
He added that Malagon has multiple family members serving in the sheriff's department.
Davis and Malagon both face felony charges, including battery causing serious injury and using force likely to cause significant injury. Davis was also arrested for inflicting injury on a spouse.
The Ventura County Sheriff's Office released a statement that the major crimes bureau was handling the criminal investigation, and the internal affairs bureau was conducting a separate investigation.
'Both investigations are critical to ensure accountability at every level. I want to assure the public and our community that the Sheriff's Office takes this matter very seriously,' Sheriff Jim Fryhoff said.
'We hold our deputies to the highest standards of conduct; any violation of those standards will be addressed appropriately, without hesitation…as that is what both our community and our agency expect and deserve.'
