Bail cut for Arpaio staffers tied to drug ring

Two of three Maricopa County sheriff's employees implicated in a multinational heroin smuggling ring have been released from custody after posting bail, and the highest-ranking member of the trio had his bail reduced to $25,000 this week after a judge determined the original $1 million cash bail was excessive.

The developments in the case, which accused the sheriff's employees of conspiring to smuggle heroin and launder money, came as prosecutors have offered plea deals to all 19 defendants and dismissed charges against one in the interest of justice.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said the reduced bond amounts and dismissed charges do not reflect on the quality of the investigation his deputies performed. But Arpaio said he was concerned about the release of some suspects who have ties to other countries.

Evidence that investigators presented to the grand jury after the months-long probe, which included the use of court-ordered wire taps, indicated that former Deputy Alfredo Navarrette and former sheriff's detention officer Marcella Hernandez discussed moving to a ranch in Mexico before their arrests.

Investigators said the ranch is owned by the smuggling ring's alleged leader, Francisco Arce-Torres, who is accused of having ties to the Sinaloan cartel and whom detectives believe fathered a child Hernandez gave birth to shortly after her arrest.

"I'm a little concerned about my people being released on $25,000 bond when intelligence shows they have this farm in (Mexico) and they're thinking about moving there," Arpaio said.

The efforts of attorneys to reduce bail amounts, get charges dismissed and have cases sent back to a grand jury are part of any vigorous defense. But the involvement of three members of the law-enforcement community being investigated by their own agency makes the case distinct.

The group mostly moved heroin, according to investigators, and officials suspect each of the arrested sheriff's employees played a crucial role in moving the drugs and hiding illicit profits. Authorities say the ring moved about $56,000 worth of heroin a week through the Valley.

Arce-Torres arranged for the heroin to be brought into the Valley after his brothers produced the drug on the family's ranch in Mexico, according to court documents.

Hernandez's brother, who was also among those arrested, is suspected of operating one of several stash houses, and investigators believe Hernandez coordinated the pickup and delivery of heroin from the drug houses.

Navarrette and Sylvia Najera, the other arrested detention officer, helped set up a shell corporation called West Utilities Group Inc., which was used earlier this year to launder nearly $50,000 in drug proceeds, according to court documents.

Najera was released after posting $12,000 bail this summer.

Hernandez's bond was reduced from $2 million to $25,000 and she was released shortly after 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.

But it was Navarrette who was depicted as among the most egregious suspects to emerge in the investigation, in part because of his role in the sheriff's human-smuggling unit and the presence of two undocumented immigrants in Navarrette's Phoenix home when deputies raided it in May.

Navarrette's attorney painted a different picture in documents he filed requesting reduced bond for his client.
The undocumented immigrants in Navarrette's house were simply renting space from the divorced deputy, who needed the extra income to keep his home, according to his attorney.

And the lifestyle Navarrette lived before his arrest does not fit with that of a money-laundering smuggler, Navarrette's attorney, Herman Alacantar, told the court.

"Mr. Navarrette was not once during this investigation spending large amounts of money, driving of possessing fancy or expensive cars or otherwise living an expensive or extravagant lifestyle," Alcantar wrote. "On the contrary, Mr. Navarrette's utilities were regularly cut off for nonpayment; he was always behind on all his bills and often had to borrow money from other deputies and friends to make ends meet."

The filings included numerous letters from Navarrette's family and friends, who cited his longstanding ties to the Valley, where he was born and raised, his service in the military and work in the Sheriff's Office.

Prosecutors declined to comment on the case, but their filings point to some of the same factors - particularly Navarrette's work in law enforcement while allegedly involved in a criminal enterprise - as reason enough for the bond to remain at $1 million.

The filings also cited months of surveillance and intercepted phone calls that allegedly support prosecutors' claims that Navarrette was intimately involved in the smuggling ring.

"While the defendant has many letters in support of him, it is apparent that those who continue to support him do not grasp the depth of his behavior and actions," prosecutor Rebekah Browder wrote. "If the defendant was able to commit these crimes while wearing a badge, it can only be assumed that if he is released from jail, he will have free reign to break the laws again."

But Superior Court Judge Janet Barton ruled Tuesday that Navarrette's $1 million bond was "clearly excessive."

The decision left Arpaio steamed.

"You have a deputy sheriff who has worked on our human smuggling and given intelligence out, putting my deputies in danger, tipping them (smugglers) off and now this guy's getting back on the street with $25,000?" Arpaio asked. "I don't understand this, I really don't."

The sheriff's employees and other defendants are due back in court in early December.

Navarette remained in custody as of Wednesday.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/10/12/20111012arpaio-staffers-bond-reduced1012.html

Family sues Phoenix over unarmed man's killing by police

PHOENIX - The mother of a 29-year-old Phoenix man who was unarmed when he was fatally shot is suing the city and the police officer who killed him.

The lawsuit against the city of Phoenix and Officer Richard Chrisman was filed on Aug. 31 in Maricopa County Superior Court. It seeks unspecified damages but KNXV reported that Elvira Fernandez originally sought $29 million in a notice of claim.

Chrisman has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault and animal cruelty. His trial set to begin in November.

On Oct. 5 last year, court records say that Chrisman pulled his pistol, put it against 29-year-old Danny Frank Rodriguez's head and told him he didn't need a warrant when Rodriguez ordered him out of his house.

Chrisman then shocked Rodriguez with a stun gun, fatally shot his pit bull and then fatally shot Rodriguez.

http://ktar.com/category/local-news-articles/20110906/Family-sues-Phoenix-over-unarmed-man%27s-killing/

Former Tempe Cop Elliot Campbell Pleads Guilty to Stealing Evidence -- Including a Refrigerator

A former Tempe cop accused of stealing evidence from the agency's evidence room -- including a refrigerator -- has pleaded guilty to reduced charges.

Initially, former Tempe Officer Elliot Campbell was booked on two counts of theft of a credit card, 10 counts of tampering with evidence, and one count each of forgery, burglary, and theft. He pleaded guilty this morning to attempt to commit theft of credit card obtained by fraudulent means, and tampering with physical evidence.

Campbell, an 11-year veteran, was arrested in May after an investigation revealed he looted the department's evidence room and used the items he stole -- including several gift cards to various retail stores -- for a little home improvement.


The Arizona Registrar of Contractors Office began investigating Campbell in April regarding his performing contract work without a contractor's license.

The investigation revealed that Campbell was driving on a suspended license. He was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, which ultimately found he'd also been stealing evidence.

During the course of their investigation, authorities searched Campbell's squad car and found envelopes checked out of the department's evidence room in March 2008. Additionally, detectives found that Campbell also had checked out a refrigerator, a clothes washer, a watch, and some tools from the evidence room. He told employees in the evidence room he was planning to return the items to their owners, which is why he was allowed to take them.

It was later determined that the gift cards Campbell had checked out of the evidence room were used at Costco and Target stores near the officer's home. A search of his house turned up the watch and the refrigerator. The washing machine, Campbell later told police, was given to a friend.

Bill Richardson is a former Mesa detective who is often critical of the Tempe Police Department. He says Campbell never should have been permitted to remove the items from the evidence room in the first place.

In a letter to Tempe officials, Richardson wrote the following:

In all my years of experience and being involved in hundreds and hundreds of felony criminal cases I have never ever taken evidence out of the property/evidence division and personally returned it to a victim. I have never heard of such a thing. It is the duty of the property/evidence custodian to dispose of evidence and seized property not an officer involved in the case.
That said, if there are lose procedures in the property/evidence division of the Tempe PD there maybe other problems relating to misappropriated property and evidence. Phoenix just uncovered a case where a detective was purportedly taking drug evidence to court when he was using the drugs himself. Lax rules, lax supervision lead to police corruption.
When you discover one dirty cop you have to figure there are others who are exploiting the system.

Following his arrest, Campbell resigned from the department. His sentencing is scheduled for October 21.

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2011/09/former_tempe_cop_elliot_campbe.php

Man shot by Mesa police was unarmed

A 38-year-old man who was shot by Mesa police Thursday had threatened to kill them, but was not armed when he was shot.

Police originally said Thursday that Phillip A. Trimble was shot by three officers when he dropped a cellphone and pointed a gun at them.

But after further investigation, homicide detectives discovered Trimble had only simulated a weapon, acting as if he was grabbing a handgun tucked in his waistband before officers opened fire.

"It appears that he just simulated the weapon with his hand," said Detective Steve Berry, a police spokesman.

"He made the statement, 'I've got a .357 magnum, I'm going to shoot you guys," Berry said. "That why we had such a heightened response, because he made threats at officers."

Berry said officers discovered Trimble was not armed when the Maricopa County Medical Examiners Office arrived on the scene and moved the body.

The shooting occurred at 2:36 p.m. Thursday after police had convinced Trimble to step outside his home in the 9000 block of East Glade Avenue, near Southern Avenue and Ellworth Road.

Berry said Trimble had appeared unstable during a series of phone calls he made to police, starting at 1:13 p.m. He initially reported a robbery.

Berry said police found evidence that Trimble had been drinking prior to the shooting.

Officers wanted to help Trimble and only shot him when they perceived a threat to their own lives, he said.

"The ultimate goal is to help, not to hurt," Berry said. Police will review the case to see if there were other tactics that could have been used.

He said officers were too far away from Trimble to have used a Taser to subdue him.

Court records show Trimble had no prior history of violent acts. He had been sentenced a year ago in Maricopa County Superior Court to four months in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, but the sentence was suspended and he was placed on probation for two years.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/2011/08/19/20110819mesa-police-shoot-unarmed-man.html

Mesa police: Officer used crime database to harass women

A Mesa police officer has been indicted on charges of misusing a law-enforcement database to date and harass women he met on duty.

One of the women was a theft victim, and others were suspects he had pulled over for traffic violations.

The indictment came just a week after another Mesa police officer and his wife were indicted on felony mortgage fraud charges in an unrelated case.

Mesa Police Chief Frank Milstead said he was "outraged" by the two cases and has placed both men on paid leave pending internal investigations.

Officer Todd Randall Duthie, an five-year veteran, was indicted on four felony counts of having unauthorized access to a state criminal history database and one misdemeanor count of harassment.

The charges stem from Duthie allegedly using his position to follow and score dates with four women, according to a police report.

Duthie's attorney Scott Halverson declined to comment on the case and Duthie did not return a message left at his Queen Creek home.

Mesa police initially opened an internal investigation last fall after one of the women complained, a police report states. But once an investigator found Duthie may have violated the law, a criminal investigation was opened, Wessing said.

Duthie contacted the first woman Sept. 15, 2009, after she reported a theft at the Las Palmas Carniceria at 7246 E. Main Street, the report states. The officer then began calling her and stopping by the store and the woman's residence.

A GPS system inside Duthie's squad car tracked his movements as he repeatedly parked outside another woman's house and as he continued to pull over two other women, who claim he tried to date them.

During a traffic stop with another woman July 8, 2010, Duthie reportedly said "I'm supposed to give you a ticket, but I won't. Since I'm not . . . let me have a date or something," the report states.

Duthie has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which came just a week after Officer Mark Anthony Escarcega and his wife Blanca were indicted on charges of mortgage fraud.

The charges stem from the purchase of a home in Mesa four years ago, authorities have stated.

Blanca Escarcega allegedly claimed she separated from her husband and received a mortgage loan modification from Bank of America stating the separation created a financial hardship, according to the Associated Press.

However, the couple never separated, and they purchased a new home and rented out the old one, court documents state.

Word of the Escarcegas' housing deal reached the department and, sensing a crime had been committed, the FBI was contacted, Mesa police spokesman Sgt. Ed Wessing said.

The Escarcegas have also pleaded not guilty.

Wessing said the department is trying to remain as transparent as possible with officer misconduct cases.

"The public doesn't need to worry that we have a corruption or misconduct issue. As an agency, we take these types of violation very seriously," he said.

Wessing added that Milstead was furious when he learned of the initial internal investigation into Duthie's activities.

"He was outraged that a member of our agency would conduct himself in that manner," Wessing said. "When an officer engages in misconduct like this, it impacts all of us. We are as outraged as the community is."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/04/28/20110428mesa-police-officer-indicted-charges-harrassing-women0428.html

Mesa Police Officer Arrested For Mortgage Fraud

A Mesa police officer and his wife have been arrested for lying to their mortgage lender after a federal investigation.

Blanca and Mark Escarcega purchased a home four years ago in Santa Rita Ranch in Mesa. According to Zillow.com, they paid $344,000 for the 1,880-square-foot home. Today, Zillow.com estimates it's only worth $175,000.

According to the Maricopa county attorney's office, the trouble began when Blanca wrote a hardship letter to their lender, Bank of America, asking for a loan modification, claiming she and her husband had separated.

According to court documents, she wrote the letter between October 2009 and August 2010. Bank of America gave her a loan modification, with the stipulation she live there at least another year.

But the county attorney's office said the couple was never separated. Instead, they rented out their Santa Rita home, and together purchased a 4,000-square-foot home in Valencia Groves in Mesa last August. According to county records, the couple paid $325,000 for their new home, using $10,395 as a down payment.

According to sources, Mark Escarcega came to work bragging about how he and his wife had rigged a deal with their lender to move up in house, but his colleagues recognized fraud and told the chief, who notified the FBI.

On Monday, both Blanca and Mark Escarcega were booked and charged with one count of residential mortgage fraud. If convicted, they could get up to three years behind bars. Both pleaded not guilty.

Michelle Christie is their current tenant, who knew nothing of her landlords' legal troubles. "It's kind of upsetting," Christie said. "Hopefully the owners will contact me and let me know what's going to happen to me, and my kids."

Kelly Gorman is a real estate attorney in Glendale. He said even the slightest fib on a mortgage application is considered fraud.

"There are people now that will try to game the system, because they know there are others catching breaks on their loans. So they'll try to restructure it," Gorman said.

The Mesa police department has suspended Escarcega on administrative leave until it can conduct its own internal investigation.

http://www.kpho.com/news/27632963/detail.html

Buckeye police officer put on leave after argument with teens

A Buckeye police officer has been placed on paid administrative leave after she was cited on suspicion of disorderly conduct.

Corrina Griffith, 36, was cited after a heated argument with teenagers outside a grocery store in Buckeye, said Lt. Dave Hubalik, a Buckeye police spokesman.

The Police Department placed Griffith on leave the morning after the altercation while an internal investigation into her conduct is ongoing, he said. The Goodyear Police Department is conducting a criminal investigation.

"We asked Goodyear to step in for us so that there was no possible appearance of impropriety," Hubalik said. "Goodyear did all the interviews of all the people there. Basically our officers stepped out of it so that there was no influence of any manner, and Goodyear made their decision on what they needed to do."

According to a Goodyear police report, Griffith, who was not on duty, arrived at Bashas' grocery store in Verrado at about 10 p.m. March 13. She was looking for her 15-year-old stepdaughter. The teen reportedly had told her friends that night she had run away from home. Griffith said she has been upset with the girl over various family issues.

The girl was in front of the store with a group of friends - four 15-year-olds and a 17-year-old - when Griffith arrived. Witnesses said Griffith told her stepdaughter to get in the car and then used strong words in threatening language toward the group of teens, the report states.

That sparked an argument between Griffith and one of the teens, who said she "had never been so disrespected in her life," and told Griffith "she needed to act like a mom," according to the report. The two continued to call each other names, and other teens called parents to pick them up.

One parent, Stephanie Rutherford, 36, called police and later confronted Griffith, starting another "loud verbal confrontation" that could be heard in the background of one of the 911 calls, the report states. Another parent reportedly told Griffith, "I know you are a cop, act like one."

Several witnesses said Griffith had an odor of alcohol, but a Goodyear police DUI investigation found that she did not have bloodshot, watery eyes, and did not have any balance or speech issues. She refused a field sobriety test.

Griffith was cited in lieu of arrest on suspicion of misdemeanor disorderly conduct and then released. She is scheduled to appear at the Agua Fria Justice Court in Tolleson on April 21, according to police records.

"It's always disturbing when a police officer gets into trouble, but we're going to handle it just like any other citizen," said Cmdr. Ralph McLaughlin, a Goodyear police spokesman.

Hubalik said Buckeye's internal investigation will determine whether Griffith violated any department policies, including "unbecoming" conduct.

"It's an unfortunate situation, and we're going to wait to see what the internal investigation bears out. Whatever decisions are made will be done in a fair and ethical manner," Hubalik said. "We truly believe that . . . we should hold ourselves to a higher standard, and we will not tolerate this type of behavior."

Griffith, a patrol officer, joined the Buckeye Police Department about two years ago from the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. She changed from full time to part time in February 2010.

Griffith is married to Buckeye police Lt. Jared Griffith, a spokesman for the department.

Goodyear police are investigating possible charges against Rutherford, who "also chose not to disengage in a disorderly event" and continued "to argue with Mrs. Griffith, which only escalated the situation," the Goodyear police report states.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/03/24/20110324buckeye-police-officer-argument-teens.html

Phoenix police detective, sergeant arrested in separate DUI incidents

PHOENIX – Two Phoenix police officers have been arrested for alleged drunk driving, adding another chapter to the story of a department that has been the center of controversy for the past few months.

According to Sgt. Mark Ortega of the Surprise Police Department, one of the officers was arrested three weeks ago. The other was cited over the weekend.

The first officer, identified as Detective Cameron Scadden, 42, was stopped for a traffic infraction near RH Johnson Boulevard and Bell Road in the early morning hours of Feb. 18. The officer saw Scadden's police identification as he reached for his driver’s license. When asked about it, Scadden said he worked for the Phoenix Police Department.

After a field sobriety test was administered, Scadden, 42, was taken to the police station where officers had him blow into an Intoxilyzer®, which is an alcohol breath testing device. Ortega said Scadden blew a concentration of .107 the first time and .111 the second time. Both results were well above the legal limit of .08.

Scadden was cited and released.

The second incident took place on March 5 shortly before noon. Sgt. John Flanagan, 41, was pulled over for speeding near Greenway and Litchfield roads. Just like what happened with Scadden a few weeks earlier, the officer saw Flanagan’s ID. Flanagan willingly told the officer he worked for the Phoenix Police Department.

Believing he smelled alcohol on Flanagan’s breath, the officer administered a field-sobriety test.

Like, Scadden, Flanagan was taken back to the police station for an Intoxilyzer® test. Flanagan also consented to a blood draw. While the blood test is not back yet, the Intoxilyzer® returned results of .178 and .170, which is more than twice the legal limit.

He, too, was cited and released. Because the charge in Flanagan's case could be aggravated DUI, police are waiting for the results of the blood test to file.

“In both cases, they called a lieutenant they work for, a supervisor in the Phoenix Police Department,” Ortega explained. “We also made sure we made contact with that supervisor and let him know that we had arrested their people.”

Ortega insisted the two officers were not shown preferential treatment.

“Citing and releasing for DUI is a common practice, not just with our department, but many departments,” he said. “You have to have a criteria that has to be met before you can do that.”

Ortega said his department looks at DUI history, as well as the behavior and level of cooperation of the subject. He said they also try to determine if the person arrested might be a flight risk. Finally, officers determine if there is a responsible party to whom the subject can be released, somebody who can and will take charge and make sure the subject gets home safely.

“In both cases, the vehicles were impounded so there wasn’t a threat of them getting back in and driving,” Ortega said. “This is the criteria we’ll use with a construction worker, an office worker, anybody.”

Arizona has some of the toughest DUI laws in the entire country, requiring mandatory fines, jail time ranging from 24 hours to 10 days, license suspension for at least 90 days, and the installation of an ignition interlock device for first-time offenders.

News of the arrests of the two Phoenix police officers on suspicion of DUI comes just a week after the department’s chief, Public Safety Manager Jack Harris, was reassigned amid allegations of manipulating kidnapping statistics in order to obtain federal grant money. While Harris retained his title and duties as public safety manager, he no longer oversees the daily running of the police department.

Auditors with the U.S. Justice Department are reviewing the numbers that sparked the controversy. In the meantime, spending of the $1.7 million the city Phoenix received has been frozen and interim Police Chief Joe Yahner has taken over day-to-day operation of the department.

Even as they story was unfolding, another scandal broke, this one involving alleged drug theft and evidence tampering. Those allegations came up after a routine random audit in January. Investigators said the alleged crimes could have been going on for years. A Phoenix detective resigned amid the investigation.

http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/2-Phoenix-police-officers-arrested-in-separate-DUI-incidents-in-Surprise-117742138.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

Pinal County deputy in desert shootout fired over comments

Disgraced Pinal County deputy Louie Puroll with Pinal County sheriff Paul Babeau

A Pinal County Sheriff's deputy who purportedly was wounded in a gun battle with drug smugglers last year has been fired for making false statements to a journalist.

In a news release, the Sheriff's Office said Deputy Louie Puroll was terminated for 10 violations of departmental policy governing ethics violations, incompetence and truthfulness.

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said in the statement that he stood by Puroll's controversial claim of being in an April shootout because the account was supported by evidence. However, Babeu said, comments made by the deputy to a Phoenix New Times reporter "brought discredit to himself and the men and women representing our sworn law enforcement profession."

Puroll suffered a minor flesh wound in a shootout that propelled him and Babeu into the national media spotlight in the heat of public debate over border security and Arizona's tough immigration law known as Senate Bill 1070.

After the incident, numerous law enforcement experts and others contended that Puroll fabricated the entire incident based on physical evidence and inconsistencies in his story. Babeu stood behind the deputy's account, and a Pinal County Sheriff's investigation concluded that the incident was authentic.

Puroll was suspended last year for comments he made to New Times.

In one interview, he told the newspaper that he had been approached by Mexican cartel members and asked to help them. In another, he told reporter Paul Rubin that a friend had offered to murder Rubin in retaliation for critical news stories.

Puroll, a search-and-rescue deputy with 14 years on the force, was placed under investigation because he had never reported those matters to his superiors or to other law enforcement.

Despite Puroll's questionable comments in the media, Babeu has maintained that the deputy's shootout with smugglers was validated by evidence.

Puroll could not be reached for comment.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/01/05/20110105pinal-county-deputy-comments-investigation.html

Ex-Phoenix officer accused of armed bank robberies

A former Phoenix police officer has been arrested on suspicion of five Valley bank robberies in which he is accused of making off with more than $133,000.

Chad Michael Goulding, 40, who left Phoenix Police in 2005 after 13 years, was taken into custody after a four-year investigation involving the FBI's Bank Robbery Task Force and the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, the agencies announced Thursday.

A 95-count indictment accuses Goulding of armed robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault and theft in a string of Bank of America robberies in Mesa, Glendale, Chandler and Scottsdale over a five-month period in 2006.

In a prepared statement, Nathan Gray, the FBI special agent in charge of the bureau's Phoenix division, heralded Goulding's arrest as an example of the bank robbery task force's commitment to "reducing the number of armed serial bank robberies."

Goulding allegedly wore a ski mask during the heists, according to investigators. He was identified in part through "assistance from the public," officials said.

The former officer is being held on a $1 million bond.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/12/09/20101209phoenix-ex-officer-arrested-robberies.html

OFFICER DOWN: The Phoenix Media and Cop-Killings

By Phoenix Insurgent

The recent shooting death of Officer David Uribe, shot in the head and neck while making a traffic stop, offers several opportunities for radical analysis. Typical of its easy-going treatment of local police departments, the media fell lock step behind the idea of the police officer as defender of public order and all things good. In fact, where any dissented from the gushing media monotone, they demanded an even more gratuitous lavishing of praise on Uribe and police in general.

Such was the case with John McDonald's melodramatic column in the Arizona Republic. In his sensationally titled article, "The day a cop died, this city lost its soul," McDonald expressed his exasperation at the TV when "two anchors and a weatherman laughed and giggled about the delightful mild temperatures just minutes after detailing the brutal execution of a local veteran cop." One wonders if McDonald even watches local television news, which in fact was dominated by endless coverage of the murder, manhunt and reaction for several days as local talking heads beatified Uribe with all due haste.

A LOSS FOR THE WHOLE COMMUNITY?

The media uniformly treated the Uribe killing as a loss for whole community. Even the killing of an unarmed man by Phoenix PD the very next day could not damper the media's enthusiasm for the story. Remarking on the shooting, Patty Kirkpatrick, a Channel 3 anchor, expressed relief that the conflict had ended in the death of the suspect, rather than a cop. In her mind it was preferable that an unarmed man die than a cop get hurt trying to carry out murder.

On May 12th, Benson's cartoon in the Republic featured a simple sketch of a police badge bearing Uribe's number. Written across a black band of mourning were the words, "thank you." But for what? "When we lose someone like that, we lose part of ourselves," answers the Phoenix Fire Department's chaplain, Rev. Father Carl G. Carlozzi in the Arizona Republic. In a letter to the editor, Patricia Fay of Phoenix explained it this way, "They are my protectors. Someone killed one of my protectors."

THE MEDIA COVERAGE

But there is a real tension between the public image of policing, defended so single-mindedly by the media, and the reality. Introducing channel 12's coverage of the Uribe funeral the following Tuesday, Lin Sue Cooney described the event as "a whole community" saying thank you. Effusive in their coverage of a car-wash fundraiser for the Uribe's family, local media outlets actively campaigned for valley residents to participate. Can the same police force that regularly kills unarmed people of color be the protectors of the community? Can the same police force that uses Tasers to kill, just as the Phoenix Police did on May 4th, 2005, killing a 24 year-old man, be protectors? Are the same police forces that disproportionately target, arrest and incarcerate the poor, and especially people of color, really defenders of the "community?"

But, everyone knows that police don't protect everyone equally and that they specifically target some segments of the community over others. For years the Scottsdale PD enforced what they called a "no-n****r zone," pulling over and harassing black people driving through the city. Incarceration rates for poor people versus rich people are so obvious that they hardly require mentioning. But many whites still continue to deny the just as obvious disparities in white and non-white incarceration rates. To believe that these disparities exist apart or in exception to the overall system of policing makes no sense. They exist because this is the way the system was meant to function.

THE ROLE OF THE POLICE

The police system is designed primarily to defend the rich and toward that end to police poor people and poor people of color in particular. Made up of reporters primarily drawn from middle and upper classes, and owned by very rich people, the media serves that goal as propagandist for the police and defender of its own class interest, and they reflect the racism that all white people learn in their upbringing.

Let's look at the numbers. According the Princeton Review, the average television reporter, after five years on the job, earned $65,000 dollars a year. In the top 25 television markets the median salary as reported by the Missouri School of Journalism stood at $78,000 in 2000. According to the US Census, that rate stood at nearly twice the same figure for male workers in general, a rate which, it should be pointed out, itself remains higher than the median for non-whites and women. That disparity appears even sharper when we consider the Bureau of Labor Statistics count, which put the average annual wage in the U.S. as $36,764 for 2002. Even print reporters, generally paid less than their television comrades, fair better than average Americans. Clearly there is a class divide between many of us consuming the news and the people reporting, not to mention the editors and owners, and the media coverage shows it.

For example, the bulk of the media ignored a story that ran in the Arizona Republic the 11th, the very day Uribe was killed. Jahna Berry reported that a federal jury had awarded Gerardo Ramirez-Diaz $1 million dollars after a Phoenix police officer shot him in the gut without just cause. And just four days before the shooting of Uribe, in a rare display of public criticism, the Arizona Republic came out against the reinstatement of Chandler police officer Dan Lovelace. Lovelace was fired for using excessive force after he shot and killed unarmed Dawn Rae Nelson in her car, from behind, with her 14 month-old son sitting in the seat behind her. That murder occurred on October 11th, 2001, making the Republic's opposition to Lovelace's reinstatement a little late in coming, to say the least, though it does show just how extreme a case it takes for the local media to take a critical position towards local police.

A DANGEROUS JOB?

Much of the coverage Uribe's killing focused on the supposed danger cops face in the carrying out of their duties. Multiple newscasters and residents interviewed regarded the police as "putting themselves on the line" for other people, risking their lives regularly or standing as soldiers on the front lines of American society. But reflecting a rate that has remained pretty consistent, police officers don't even rank in the top ten most dangerous jobs as most recently listed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In fact, just a little over a week before Uribe's killing, a farm worker was killed in Arizona when a bale of hay fell on him. Another worker, a roofer, was killed when he fell and drowned in a pool. The first didn't even merit mentioning his name in the brief Arizona Republic article that ran. Both farm worker and roofer do rank within the top ten most dangerous occupations. Interestingly, Latinos represent a large proportion of workers in these fields. Another recent study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics found a rate of five fatalities per 100,000 Hispanic workers in 2002 that was 25 percent higher than for all workers. This wouldn't happen if white workers would stand up with Latino workers against these kinds of abuses. But apparently local media finds the deaths of workers, especially workers of color, as too commonplace to merit coverage, even though that contradicts their attitude towards the job of police officer, who they misreport as in constant jeopardy.

So, in order to understand why the media, the rich and so many white people have fallen all over themselves to praise Uribe and to condemn his murder – while rarely admitting police excesses - we have to delve a little into the history of American police forces. The alleged danger of the job doesn't stand up as a sufficient explanation. Policing in America has two main origins, both of which serve to accomplish the same mission: to protect the wealth of the rich and powerful.

THE ORIGINS OF AMERICAN POLICING

The first origin lies in the violent class struggles of the 19th century. During those times, workers were forced into the emerging factory system that the capitalist class was creating in the cities of the Northeast. In these factories workers had little power and were subjected to long hours. When armed class struggle broke out, the capitalists, outnumbered and not generally wishing to risk their own necks in the fighting, created police forces to wage war on the working class in defense of their factories and wealth. The first real police force in the US was founded in 1845 in New York City, center of the country's emerging industrial economy. As industrialism and modern capitalism spread, other cities followed New York's example.

Private property lies at the heart of capitalist exploitation. The authority of the boss derives precisely because s/he owns the means of production – the workplace, the computers, the machines and thus the profits. Because workers' interests depend on a redistribution of wealth and equality in the workplace, this brings us in inevitable conflict with the boss and his lackeys, the police. It's the same thing with the landlord. The landlord's ability to evict or demand rent couldn't exist without the system of private property and the police to back it up with violence.

The second main origin of American policing centers on the slave patrol system of the South. Charged with protecting white plantation owners, the slave patrols, or "patty rollers" as they were often called, brutally oppressed blacks, both slave and free. It is from the slave patrollers that American policing gets many of its traditions and powers. Patty rollers worked specific "beats" and could demand identification from any black person they encountered. The slave patrols incarcerated and returned, frequently with violence, any black person who could not prove their free status or provide written permission for their travel. Even in the North the police were charged with capturing and returning escaped slaves.

The influence of this racist tradition reverberates today in a variety of ways. An Arizona Daily Star review of Department of Public Safety records revealed that during traffic stops police searched Latinos more than twice as frequently as whites. And police searched blacks almost three times as frequently as whites – despite the fact that searches of whites turned up contraband much more regularly. Beyond racial profiling, which brings them into police contact more frequently in the first place, non-whites also face racist judges, unequal access to competent defense and sentencing guidelines that send them to prison at rates many times that of whites.

In fact, the history of Arizona police forces combines both origins. Back in the day, as now, Arizona was a mining state and Latinos composed a large percentage of the miners. In response to militant organizing by mine workers, the state created the Arizona Rangers. Ostensibly formed to combat cattle rustling, in actuality the government used the force primarily against miners and people of color. This tradition continues to contemporary times, and many of us remember the UMW strike of 1983 when then-Governor Bruce Babbitt, a Democrat, called out police and national guardsmen against workers in defense of the Phelps-Dodge Corporation. Police guarded scabs brought in by the company, effectively breaking the strike.

It is critical for working class white people to understand the true origins and purposes of American policing and to be critical of both the aims and causes of media defense of police and police departments. In the end, supporting police power means supporting the rich people that exploit the entire working class, white or not. The American system has given white workers privileges that non-white workers don't get, and many of them directly involve reduced exposure to police violence and policing in general. American history has shown, though, that when even white workers organize against the bosses and politicians, the police are brought in against us as well. It's time for white workers to stand in support of communities of color when they organize against the police of all kinds, including La Migra. We need to recognize that the police are a racist institution that cannot be justified if what we want is a world of equality and justice, and media defense of policing amounts to defense of racism and the rich.

http://firesneverextinguished.blogspot.com/2009/01/officer-down-phoenix-media-and-cop.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