A former San Jose police officer charged with DUI after a 2021 road-rage incident — with a child in his car — is avoiding prosecution through a military diversion program. He reportedly punched a woman in a violent case prosecutors say the law wasn’t meant to cover.
As reported by NBC Bay Area, former SJPD officer George Brown was off duty on July 24, 2021, driving near the I-280/I-680 interchange with a friend and a child relative in the car, when he narrowly avoided a collision with another vehicle. According to the Santa Clara County DA, both cars began driving aggressively before a woman in the other car threw a plastic bottle that hit Brown’s SUV. Brown mouthed to the driver to pull over, called for emergency “Code 3” backup, then pulled over near McKee Road and blocked a lane of freeway traffic.
Once stopped, Brown identified himself as a San Jose police officer, then — without provocation — punched the 5-foot-3 woman in the face, knocking her to the ground, as reported by Bay Area News Group. Prosecutors say he hit her again when she tried to stand, then joined a physical altercation between his friend and the woman’s husband. By the time officers arrived, all parties had left the scene. The woman sought treatment at a hospital, and two video recordings — one from a Tesla’s dashcam and another from a witness’s phone — later corroborated her account…