Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office accepted responsibility for the botched DUI case against Phoenix police officers who fought with authorities and launched an internal investigation.
After the incident, the sheriff’s office admitted the matter. Phoenix New Times Detailed the case In a November 17 story
Joaquin Enriquez, spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, stated that “it’s on us.” New Times Shortly after publication of the story, he said that it was not submitted to prosecutors. He stated that the agency had not submitted the case to the prosecutors. He said that the internal affairs bureau of the sheriff’s office has opened an investigation.
Jason Halleman was an officer with Phoenix Police Department. He was found unresponsive in a car that was running on a residential street. According to court documents, Halleman was found holding a bottle and failed basic sobriety test after being awakened by deputies.
Halleman was at a substation of the sheriff’s office and became hostile towards deputies who tried to process him. A minute-long video clip Obtained by New Times He can be seen shouting at deputies and telling them to “shut their fucking lips.” Then he tries to fight them. He was handcuffed and taken to the ground.
He was not charged despite a Halleman blood test showing a 0.189 blood alcohol level. This is an extreme DUI in Arizona and comes with a mandatory 30-day sentence. He was also not charged with the altercation he had with deputies. Halleman cannot be charged with DUI as the statute of limitations has expired.
Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board is currently investigating Halleman. This state’s law enforcement watchdog is called the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board. According to AZPOST records he was suspended by Phoenix police for three weeks without pay in September because of the incident. He has since returned to work.
When New Times First, Halleman’s case was discussed at an AZPOST meeting in September. Both law enforcement officials as well as county prosecutors denied that the case was rigged.
Calbert Gillett, spokesperson for Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, stated in an email that on October 5th Calbert Gillett had sent to New Times The delay in submitting the charges was not the fault of the agency. “MCSO filed DUI charges within the timeframes as required by statute. Gillett stated that you will need to contact [the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office] to find out why this case was not prosecuted. An AZPOST investigator’s case notes indicated that MCSO had submitted the bloodwork and charges to prosecutors, or that AZPOST was informed.
Prosecutors claimed they did not receive a submittal form the sheriff’s department. Jennifer Liewer, spokesperson for MCAO, stated that the county attorney’s office did not have any record of receiving charges or details regarding Halleman’s blood alcohol level after the initial citation. New Times November
On November 7, New Times Multiple requests were made to the sheriff’s department for additional information. MCSO was informed by prosecutors that the agency had refuted the agency’s account of events. MCSO didn’t respond to my requests and didn’t clarify their role in the case until November 17, when the story was published.
The day following November 8th, New Times Enriquez responded that the sheriff’s department launched an internal investigation into this case. He said that although the case had been submitted internally, Enriquez stated that a printed copy was not presented to the county prosecutors as protocol. “That didn’t happen,” Enriquez explained.
“Why was it not completed, why did it take so long and why, when it finally happened, didn’t it go to downtown?” “All these are questions that will be answered once the investigation has been completed,” he said.
Liewer was informed after the sheriff’s department took responsibility New Times The county attorney’s office did not have any other comments. She stated, “I stand by my statement that the case was never resubmitted by MCSO to our office.”
Enriquez stated that the sheriff’s offices have not provided any clear explanations as to why the case was not submitted. He said, “Sheriff Paul Penzone treats these matters very seriously.” “I will keep you updated when I have more information.”
This could take some time. Penzone was created recently Accused of contempt of Court He is responsible for the huge backlog of misconduct cases that has built up over the six years that he’s been in charge of the sheriff’s department. The average investigation takes 611 working days. Investigations involving sworn deputies can take up to 800 days.
