Arthur Roman, of Tinley Park, his 25-year-old brother, Martin, and his brother's wife, Jessica, were charged with assault with a deadly weapon and battery.
Huntington Beach police said officers responded to a report of a stabbing outside a 24-hour fitness center just after 4:15 p.m. Sunday. Karam Jarrah, 17, had been stabbed twice.
Jarrah said his brother-in-law, Asem Dghem, walked by the three suspects sitting in their car.
"He was like, 'What's up Obama bam?'" Jarrah said.
"They got *** all of a sudden out of the blue. We've faced this type of situation before," Dghem said.
Jarrah said the confrontation quickly turned violent and Roman pulled out a knife and stabbed him.
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Police said after the fight, all three fled the scene. They were taken into custody a short time later.
Jarrah was taken to the hospital. His injuries were not life-threatening.
"They have to protect us, not stab us. He's a police officer, supposed to be a role model," Dghem said.
Investigators can't confirm that Jarrah and his brother-in-law were targeted because of their race. Police are not treating this as a hate crime because they say it was a "spur-of-the-moment" argument.
Oak Forest Police were notified of the incident and said they put Roman on administrative leave until the conclusion of an internal investigation.