Fray Between 2 Officials Investigated

OXNARD —  Police are investigating an altercation between Supervisor John Flynn and Oxnard Elementary School District Supt. Richard Duarte.

Witnesses said Flynn, who spoke during Tuesday night’s Oxnard City Council meeting against plans to provide utilities and police service for a planned school site, injured a district administrator as he pushed past her before grabbing Duarte’s arm.

Flynn denied the allegations, and said he was pushed and elbowed by Duarte.

The incident occurred about 9:15 p.m. during a council meeting recess, said Police Cmdr. Rafael Nieves, who is heading the investigation.

Both sides agree that following the council’s vote, Flynn approached Duarte to discuss the merits of smaller school sites, and that the brief conversation soon became animated. Beyond that point, the accounts differ dramatically.

Duarte and other school officials say Flynn appeared agitated over the council’s vote.

“His whole body language was that he was kind of annoyed,” said Connie Sharp, the district’s assistant superintendent for educational services. “I pointed it out to someone else.”

On his way to talk with Duarte, Flynn passed Martha Hernandez, 47, the district’s administrator of curriculum assessment and instruction services.

“He kind of shoved or pushed me to the side,” Hernandez said. “He used his arm to make room for a path.”

Hernandez, who said she felt sore Wednesday morning, said she plans to visit a doctor today.

“My left upper arm and shoulder are hurting. That was the side that was pushed.”

Flynn denied pushing Hernandez, whom he accused of fabricating her story because she works for Duarte.

“She’s a district administrator, so she’s an unfriendly witness for me,” he said. “She’s simply telling a lie. I didn’t touch anybody.”

Flynn said he tried to talk with Duarte on comments he had made to the council regarding smaller schools.

“I did not appreciate the tone in his voice, and I began to walk past him,” Duarte said.

At that point, Flynn said, Duarte “took both of his hands and pushed me in the chest. I started to walk along and he elbowed me. He shoved me hard out of the way with his elbow. . . . I was not agitated until he pushed me, of course. I was in fear for myself after being pushed.”

Duarte said he just wanted to break free of Flynn’s hold.

“I yanked my arm out of his grasp,” Duarte said. “He may perceive that differently.”

“All Richard did was yank his arm back,” Sharp said. “It was a defensive, not an offensive, yank.”

Other witnesses then heard Duarte yell at Flynn.

“I heard Duarte shout either ‘You can’t intimidate me’ or ‘I can’t be intimidated,’ ” said Martin Jones, who ran unsuccessfully in November for a seat on the City Council and supports Flynn’s views on the school site.

On Wednesday, Duarte confirmed he had spoken to that effect. Duarte, Jones said, also appeared agitated and had a look “of real anger.”

Police investigators have not interviewed the parties involved, Chief Art Lopez said.

“We have just started an investigation and we don’t know a whole lot,” Lopez said.

Although the incident involves two high-ranking officials, Lopez said both will be treated just like anyone else.

“You have to figure there are tremendous ramifications to this,” Lopez said. “There will be no difference in the way we handle this case.”

Hernandez said she has no immediate plans to press charges against Flynn.

“I’m not thinking along those lines right now,” she said.

Flynn said he would file charges only if school officials do.

“They can go ahead and file whatever they want,” he said. “Then I will push criminal charges.”

The council vote that sparked the incident was a unanimous agreement to provide public services--including police, fire and sewers--to 14 acres of farmland outside the city limits if the district develops the parcel for Juan Soria Elementary School in the next 10 years. The site is at the east end of Emerson Avenue.

Last month the county’s Local Agency Formation Commission, which oversees boundary issues, rejected a district plan to annex the land into the city.

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Times staff writer Timothy Hughes contributed to this report.