Phoenix officer arrested, charged with assaulting wife and discharging firearm

A Phoenix police officer who is also a Marine Reservist and recently back from a combat tour in Afghanistan has been arrested on charges of assaulting his wife and discharging a firearm.

A Casa Grande police spokesman said that Armando Ramirez was arrested Saturday and booked into the Pinal County Jail on one count of aggravated assault/domestic violence, one count of disorderly conduct with a weapon and one count of unlawful discharge of a weapon.

No one was injured by the gunshot, the spokesman said.

A Phoenix police spokesman, Sgt. Trent Crump, said Tuesday that Ramirez, 37, is a five-year member of the force. He also said Ramirez had previously served 10 years in the Marines and since joining the Phoenix police has done a combat tour in Iraq and a recent seven-month stint in Afghanistan.

Crump said Ramirez had resumed duties in the South Mountain Precinct on Dec. 5.

Ramirez has been placed on paid administrative leave and assigned to his home by the Professional Standards Bureau until an investigation is completed, the spokesman added.

Crump said he had spoken on the telephone with Ramirez.

"He said to me that he loves his family very much and is going to do everything possible to make this right,'' he said.

Crump said that "appropriate action'' will be taken by the Police Department, "when the facts of the case are known and have been reviewed.''

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/12/13/20111213phoenix-officer-accused-domestic-violence.html

El Mirage police officer accused in assault, disorderly conduct

An El Mirage police officer was arrested early Saturday morning in Surprise in a suspected domestic-violence incident, according to a department official.

Surprise police arrest documents said Officer Susan Gallant, 44, was arrested on suspicion of assault and disorderly conduct at 3:30 a.m. Saturday.

El Mirage Lt. Ronald Hergert said the arrest stems from two incidents between Gallant and her domestic partner. The partner, whose name was not provided by Surprise police, was also arrested, Hergert said.
Hergert said Gallant will be assigned desk duty when she returns to work Friday at the El Mirage Police Department for the duration of the criminal case.

"She won't be on the street in a normal enforcement role," he said.

Gallant, who has worked as an El Mirage officer for at least four years, also faces an internal investigation in Saturday's incident.

Hergert would not comment on the details of the case, saying that he had not received the police report and that any information he has is "hearsay at this point."

"As we would with any employee, we're going to take administrative action at an appropriate time if warranted," he said.

Hergert, who was serving as acting chief Tuesday while chief Steve Campbell is on vacation, conferred with City Manager Spencer Isom about placing Gallant on administrative leave after she was arrested. The situation did not warrant suspension, he said.

Surprise Municipal Court records show that in 2009 Gallant was ordered to take a defensive driving course after her unmarked car rear-ended another vehicle while she was on duty.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/10/12/20111012el-mirage-police-officer-accused-assault-disorderly-conduct-brk.html

Former Glendale police officer won't face abuse charges

Two Glendale police officers resigned months after an internal investigation was launched by an anonymous call.

The unidentified caller reported in July that Glendale Sgt. Brent Thomas had abused his wife, according to documents released to The Republic after a public-records request.

Those allegations will not result in criminal charges, a Maricopa County Attorney's Office spokesman said on Tuesday.

However, by December, Thomas and another officer with whom he had a romantic relationship had resigned and a third officer was reprimanded.

Investigation starts

Last summer, when the allegations were reported, Thomas and his wife were in the midst of a divorce.

Thomas' wife told police Thomas had abused her for seven to 10 years. She also shared photos of injuries she said resulted from the abuse. Glendale police redacted details about the injuries and the abuse allegations in the documents released to The Republic.

Police recommended in October that Thomas, a 14-year officer, be charged with felony counts of aggravated domestic violence, aggravated assault, criminal damage and interference with a judicial proceeding, a misdemeanor.

A spokesman for the county attorney's office confirmed Tuesday that prosecutors will not file charges against Thomas.

"Our position after reviewing the information that was provided to us is that there is not enough to win a conviction," spokesman Jerry Cobb said.

An attorney representing Thomas said his client denies his wife's accusations. Another attorney, DeShon Pullen wrote, "The first report in the 14-year relationship was after the service of the divorce . . . (his wife) told him in her own words that she promised she would ruin him."

Thomas, who had no major previous disciplinary problems and good performance reviews, would not comment to The Republic.

Police officials relieved Thomas of his enforcement duties immediately upon learning of the abuse allegations and ordered him to return his department weapons, said Sgt. Brent Coombs, a Glendale police spokesman. Thomas was told he would be reassigned to administrative tasks during the investigation but he never returned to work, Coombs said. Thomas also chose not to speak to police investigators.

Investigation expands

Thomas and another officer, Heather Opp, worked the same shift and in the same patrol area, according to documents. Thomas also was Opp's supervisor, at times.

In interviews with investigators, Opp first described her relationship with Thomas and his wife as friendly. She later said she and Thomas had a romantic relationship and that she had moved in with Thomas, who no longer lived with his wife.

She denied being aware of the alleged abuse.

Police also learned that Thomas' wife told Glendale Officer Delores Baumann about the apparent abuse but she did not report it to supervisors. Thomas was Baumann's boss, according to police records.

Baumann told investigators she "felt she was caught in a predicament that had no beneficial outcome regardless of what she did."

The internal investigation was completed Sept. 30. Investigators accused Opp of lying about her relationship with Thomas during her review. They recommended termination of Thomas based on the allegations against him.

Police Chief Steve Conrad notified Thomas and Opp that they were going to be fired.

Both officers resigned.

Baumann was given a written reprimand.

Neither Baumann nor Opp could be reached for comment.

Opp, a two-year officer, agreed last month to voluntarily give up her right to serve as a police officer in Arizona after her case was forwarded to the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board for review.

Thomas's case has not yet gone before the board.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/02/22/20110222glendale-police-officer-wont-face-abuse-charges.html

Peoria personnel board upholds police sergeant's termination

A Peoria personnel board last month upheld the firing of a sergeant.

Former Sgt. Tim Smith was terminated last February after an investigation found that the 13-year Peoria police officer had threatened to kill his former wife and used a department cellphone to send harassing text messages to her.

Investigators also found that Smith had attached a Peoria police tracking device to his wife's car and documented a 2008 incident in which Smith had thrown a drink in another man's face at a Peoria bar after learning the man had purchased a drink for his wife.

Smith's ex-wife said in a police interview that a friend encouraged her to contact officers about the threats.

The former police supervisor appealed his firing in a two-day hearing last September. A hearing officer issued a recommendation two months later. The personnel board met Jan. 27 to consider Smith's case and voted to uphold his firing.

The decision by the Peoria board, comprising residents, contrasted with a hearing officer's November recommendation.

Hearing Officer Douglas Grimwood said Smith should have been reinstated to the Peoria Police Department.

A 30-day suspension would have been sufficient, Grimwood wrote in the decision obtained by The Republic.

"The violations against "personal use" of the tracking device, the event at the Skye (restaurant) and the telephonic threat all arise out of Sgt. Smith's tumultuous relationship with his then-wifeand should be balanced against his previous 13½ years of unblemished and thoroughly satisfactory service," Grimwood wrote.

The hearing officer also recommended Smith be awarded back pay and that the sergeant agree to undergo counseling.

Smith did not return messages left by The Republic. He said in a statement released last year that the police investigation failed to take into account the "totality of circumstances" and didn't give him sufficient credit for his years of positive service to Peoria.

"Even an accusation or 'charge' is far from guilt," Smith wrote. "There is no, and never was, a victim willing to aid in or desiring prosecution, nor were the elements of a crime present even had there been a willing victim."

Smith was initially charged with two counts of misdemeanor domestic violence. He later pleaded guilty to one count of disorderly conduct.

Smith was sentenced to one year probation and ordered to complete a 10-week anger-management course.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/02/22/20110222peoria-board-upholds-police-sergeant-termination.html

Phoenix police officer arrested in domestic-violence case after choking girlfriend

Phoenix police officer Sutton Wohlman

A Phoenix police officer has been arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault after a witness told authorities the officer choked his live-in girlfriend, according to a news release issued Monday by the Phoenix Police Department.

Sutton Wohlman, 29, was booked early Monday morning at the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office jail.

Wohlman likely will face two felony charges of resisting arrest from an officer and aggravated assault.

At 11:45 p.m. Sunday, Phoenix police responded to a domestic violence call after a female witness reported intervening in the assault involving Wohlman and his girlfriend at their home. Wohlman's girlfriend suffered minor injuries.

The first officer who arrived tried to detain Wohlman by placing him in handcuffs, but Wohlman resisted, according to Phoenix police.

One of the officers arresting Wohlman suffered minor injuries in the scuffle, said Sgt. Trent Crump, a spokesman for Phoenix police.

Wohlman was taken into custody after being treated at a local hospital for an injury to his forehead during the struggle with officers, according to Phoenix police.

Wohlman and his girlfriend had been living together for four months, Crump said. Authorities believe the couple came home from a night of drinking before the assault took place, and Wohlman is believed to have been under the influence during the assault.

He is being placed on paid administrative leave while investigations continue.

Wohlman is an officer for the Squaw Peak Precinct and has been with the Phoenix Police Department for three years.

"We employ people, and these kinds of things occur," Crump said.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2010/10/18/20101018phoenix-officer-arrested-domestic-violence-abrk.html