An off-duty police officer accused of brutally beating an unarmed man said Monday he did not regret using "justified force" against the alleged victim, whom he characterized as a resistant and hostile theft suspect.

Former Milwaukee Police Officer Jon Bartlett was joined by co-defendant Daniel Masarik in denying allegations that they used excessive force against Frank Jude Jr., a male stripper who showed up at a party where several off-duty officers were present.

Unlike Bartlett, Masarik testified he was nowhere near the scene of the alleged attack and produced cellphone records to support the claim that he was inside the home of co-defendant Andrew Spengler during the scuffle on Oct. 24, 2004.

The testimony from both men contradicted statements from several other police and civilian witnesses who accused the defendants of using excessive force to detain Jude, who they believed had stolen Spengler's badge from his home.

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All three defendants face three years on charges of substantial battery. Bartlett and Masarik also face an extra 10 years on reckless endangerment charges. For his use of a knife in the incident, Bartlett faces an extra nine years on a dangerous weapon enhancement.

Bartlett, 34, conceded that he regretted using a knife to cut Jude's jacket off him, as the 26-year-old struggled against his efforts to detain him.

"I don't like the fact that I cut his jacket," said Bartlett, a five-year veteran of the force when he was dismissed in 2005 for his involvement in the incident. "It seemed like the right thing to do at the time."

Even though the scuffle began around 2:45 a.m., after a night of drinking that began around 7:30 p.m. that evening, the defendant said he had no misgivings about deciding to use force against Jude to gain his compliance.

"My state of mind at this point was that a crime had been committed," Bartlett testified. "As police officers, we needed to take action."

Bartlett admitted to delivering several "focused strikes," or punches to Jude's ribs, in order to incapacitate a man he described as one of the most physically imposing subjects he had ever encountered.

"This was probably the most difficult person I ever struggled with to get into custody," he said.

Three other police officers at the scene, including the two uniformed officers who responded to a 911 call, previously testified that they saw Bartlett kick Jude in the head even after he was handcuffed.

But Bartlett, in turn, placed the blame on Officer Joseph Schabel, who directly implicated the defendants in his testimony on Friday.

Dressed in a tan suit with a matching striped tie, Bartlett also accused off-duty officer Ryan Packard of punching Jude in the ribs and the face, causing his nose to bleed, while they struggled to get him to the ground.

But Bartlett struggled under cross-examination to explain why he never once came forward with his allegations against Packard and Schabel.

"Schabel was presumably sober, and you're asking this jury to believe that the first thing he did was walk up to Mr. Jude and kick him in the face?" deputy district attorney Jon Reddin asked.

"Yes. He actually ran up and kicked him in the face," Bartlett answered.

"You witnessed someone using deadly force and you never reported it?" Reddin continued.

"Yes, and would you like me to explain why?" Bartlett asked.

"No. I think the answer speaks for itself," Reddin said.

Statements from 26-year-old Daniel Masarik early Monday also contradicted the testimony of several civilian and police witnesses who accused him of kicking and punching the victim while he lay handcuffed on the ground.

Defendant Daniel Masarik testified Monday that he never punched or kicked Frank Jude.

Dressed in a navy suit and a striped tie, Masarik told jurors Monday that he was on the phone with his estranged wife during the melee and produced cellphone records to support his claim.

"On Oct. 24, 2004, did you have any physical contact with Mr. Jude?" attorney Jonathan Smith asked Masarik, who was staying with the Spenglers at the time of the incident.

"No, I did not," said Masarik.

A college student who invited Jude to the party made a 911 phone call at 2:48 a.m. to report that several men, including Masarik, were beating him because they suspected him of stealing Spengler's badge from his home.

But Masarik's cellphone records indicated that at 2:48 a.m., he was hanging up on his second five-minute phone call with his wife, following a previous call which began around 2:38 a.m. and ended at 2:43 a.m.

Masarik testified he was aware of the confrontation taking place outside, but in keeping with a pattern of testimony from most other police witnesses at the scene, Masarik also denied seeing any acts of violence against Jude.

Instead, he said, he was in and out of the house looking for his friend's badge and making sure his own police items were safe in the house.

"I cannot believe that a police officer would leave his friends in midst of all that commotion," Milwaukee County District Attorney Michael McCann yelled at the defendant. "You are saying you would turn away to look for your memo book?"

"That's what I did that night," Masarik testified.

Lawyers for Bartlett will continue calling witnesses Tuesday. The trial is being streamed live on the Web at Court TV Extra.