Cerritos Mayor Pro Tem Barrows involved in alleged assault involving resident, council critic Jay Gray

Cerritos resident Jay Gray was involved in a incident with Cerritos Mayor Pro-Tem Bruce Barrows on Monday night.

By Brian Hews

Cerritos Mayor Pro Tem Bruce Barrows was involved in an incident Monday night that could land the veteran city councilman in legal hot water after he allegedly physically assaulted resident Jay Gray.

Gray, who is on Tuesday’s ballot for a seat on the Central Basin Water Board of Directors told Los Cerritos Community Newspaper in an exclusive interview Tuesday morning that Barrows “grabbed me” and “threw him” and “yanked at his jacket and neck tie” after the meeting to dispute Gray’s public comments he made about various city priorities for the upcoming fiscal year.

Cerritos Mayor Pro Tem Bruce Barrows was involved in an incident Monday night that could land the veteran city councilman in legal hot water after he allegedly physically assaulted resident Jay Gray who is a candidate in Tuesday election for a local water board election.

Gray said that Barrows “became enraged” after the meeting was over and confronted him inside the city council chambers. “He got right in my face, and wouldn’t stop his aggressive language,” Gray said.

Gray, a resident of Cerritos for the past 40 years, then attempted to distance himself from Barrows and the councilman allegedly followed him outside the city council chambers and then apparently grabbed Gray by the arm and began pushing and shoving him while still yelling obscenities.

“I was stunned,” Gray said.

Gray then told Los Cerritos Community Newspaper that he told Barrows he was going to the Cerritos Sheriff’s Department next door to city hall to file a formal complaint.

Members of the Cerritos Sheriff’s Department confirmed that Gray filed a report and that Barrows was interviewed by a Detective and confirmed the incident.

Law enforcement also interviewed one additional witness, long time resident and city council critic Jim McMahon. McMahon told LCCN that he tried to “get Barrows to calm down,” but the heated exchange continued.

Lt. Harpham with the Cerritos Sheriff’s Department said that an “incident” did take place involving Barrows and Gray, and that a “formal investigation has been launched, pending further review.”

Harpham also confirmed that Barrows and Gray were both interviewed along with “one other witness.”

“We are just beginning the investigation,” Harpham said.

Barrows is the current President of the League of California Cities, Los Angeles Division. Los Cerritos Community Newspaper will have additional details as they become available on Tuesday.

Calls into Barrows were not returned to Los Cerritos Community Newspaper.

Harpham said that the case will turned over to the Los Angels County District Attorney’s Office “when we are done with our investigation.”

Update: Tuesday, June 5 at 6:25 p.m.
Los Cerritos Community Newspaper was given a copy of an email Cerritos Mayor Pro-Tem Bruce Barrows sent to a local on-line web site regarding the incident via his personal email account:

“At the conclusion of our budget meeting, while I was walking back to City Hall a discussion with Jay Gray became heated with my walking away from him. Jay then followed me out of the building making a sexual comment about my wife. A report was filed separately by Jay and myself with the Cerritos Sheriff’s Station that is under investigation. We are hoping to have a decision from the D.A. tomorrow. I refer you to the contents of that report for the facts, which are substantially different from that reported by the Community News.”

Copyright. All Rights Reserved. Los Cerritos Community Newspaper. Hews Media Group. 2012. Republication with proper attribution

Gskyer Telescope, 70mm Aperture 400mm AZ Mount Astronomical Refracting Telescope for Kids Beginners - Travel Telescope with Carry Bag, Phone Adapter and Wireless Remote.

(21291)

$86.97 (as of April 8, 2025 05:25 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Topps 2025 Series 1 Baseball Trading Card Hanger Box (59 Cards)

(6)

$23.84 (as of April 8, 2025 05:25 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Handmade 3Pcs Pocket Cross My Heart with Organza Bags - Stress Relief Fidget Toy for Christian, Pocket Prayer Cross, Religious Easter Day Gift Set

(5)

$11.99 (as of April 9, 2025 17:19 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Apple 2025 MacBook Air 13-inch Laptop with M4 chip: Built for Apple Intelligence, 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display, 16GB Unified Memory, 256GB SSD Storage, 12MP Center Stage Camera, Touch ID; Midnight

(78)

$974.00 (as of April 9, 2025 17:19 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Ymumuda 2025-2026 Planner, 12-Month Daily Weekly Monthly Planner from JUL.2025 to JUN.2026, 8.4" X 6", Spiral Notebook with Stickers, Elastic Closure, Inner Pocket for Office School Supplies

(2469)

$6.39 (as of April 9, 2025 17:19 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Scott ComfortPlus Toilet Paper, 12 Double Rolls, 231 Sheets per Roll, Septic-Safe, 1-Ply Toilet Tissue

(77203)

$5.68 (as of April 8, 2025 05:25 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Amazon Fire TV Stick HD (newest model), free and live TV, Alexa Voice Remote, smart home controls, HD streaming

(10995)

$19.99 (as of April 8, 2025 05:25 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K (newest model) with AI-powered Fire TV Search, Wi-Fi 6, stream over 1.5 million movies and shows, free & live TV

(62303)

$29.99 (as of April 8, 2025 05:25 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Waterproof Mouse pad—Excel Cheat Sheet Desk pad—Contains 9 major Excel function modules and common functions—Large XL Mouse pad Gaming|Desk mat for Keyboard and Mouse|Computer mat with excel Shortcuts

(151)

$16.99 (as of April 9, 2025 17:19 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)

Apple AirPods Pro 2 Wireless Earbuds, Bluetooth Headphones, Active Noise Cancellation, Hearing Aid Feature, Transparency, Personalized Spatial Audio, High-Fidelity Sound, H2 Chip, USB-C Charging

(23869)

$199.00 (as of April 8, 2025 05:25 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)