Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz has fired an officer who allegedly beat a man unconscious during an off-duty fight.
The department announced that officer Joe Moreno was terminated on Friday.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that Schultz did not issued a statement explaining his reasons for firing the officer.
Moreno was accused of beating Jeffrey Grubbs in the parking lot of a Hooters restaurant and bar in August 2012.
The two men's accounts of the fight differ. Grubbs claims Moreno assaulted him without provocation, but Moreno says he felt threatened when Grubbs approach him with his hands up in a fighting position.
Moreno was placed on paid leave and later reassigned to a post in the city's animal welfare department. An internal investigation was launched last August.