Original Article Chandler officer held in assault Lindsey Collom The Arizona Republic Jan. 19, 2005 12:00 AM CHANDLER - A Chandler police officer was in jail Tuesday after he attacked a man who was trying to help him, police say. Brian Rader, 32, with the department for two years, was arrested Monday in an aggravated assault on 45-year-old Chris Malham. Rader, who is on paid leave pending an internal investigation, was off-duty at the time. Malham heard banging on his apartment door about 10:30 p.m. When he couldn't see anything from a peephole, he opened the door to find Rader on the ground with his pants around his ankles. He and other witnesses said Rader smelled of alcohol. "The first thing I said was, 'Man, are you OK?' and I startled him," Malham said. "He got up and cold-cocked me across the face in my jaw." The men struggled for several minutes until neighbors intervened, holding Rader at bay until police arrived. Malham was bitten on a finger and may have a fractured jaw. "We're obviously disappointed," Sgt. Mark Franzen said, "but we handled it like any other investigation." Rader was an officer with the Cottonwood Police Department for nearly six years before joining Chandler. "Maybe it's nothing more than drinking and a mistaken address," said Cottonwood Lt. Jack Stapleton. "That's very much out of character from the Brian we knew here."