Last year, Lake Havasu Police Officer Martin Standberry was charged with a misdemeanor after a brawl at a local bar. Standberry is now on unsupervised probation and will take anger management classes.
Standberry was originally charged in October with disorderly conduct and assault in the incident. Last Thursday, Stansberry pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and the Lake Havasu City Prosecutor's Office dismissed the assault charge.
Prosecution on Mr. Standsbury's disorderly conduct charge was deferred, and Mr. Standsbury was ordered to serve unsupervised probation, according to court records. Standberry was also ordered to pay more than $1,100 in fines and fees and attend anger management classes in accordance with an agreement with prosecutors.
The incident began on October 28, when Standberry was at a bar on McCulloch Boulevard with friends and family. During an argument at the store, Standsberry reportedly put the victim in a “chokehold” and then the victim's girlfriend punched Standsberry. After that incident, the victim and his girlfriend were kicked out of the business.
Police said Standsbury initially told responding officers that the altercation began when one of the bar patrons approached Standsbury's table in a manner that appeared to be aggressive. One witness at the scene said the victim may have been confronted by a man from Standsbury's party, and that Standsbury attempted to de-escalate the situation.
Police said this statement would later prove to be an incomplete reconstruction of the facts, but the information available to officers at the time was limited.
Responding officers quickly found the victim and his girlfriend leaving the bar near the intersection of Scott Drive and McCulloch Boulevard. Both men were investigated in this case.
Police said the victim and his girlfriend told officers they may have heard members of Standberry's group making racial slurs at the store. The victim, who is described as Hispanic, tried to confront them, but Standberry allegedly grabbed him from behind and dragged him to the ground. The victim's girlfriend retaliated and punched Standberry, after which the two were kicked out of the store.
Employees were unable to provide police with surveillance video footage of the incident at the time. The victim and his girlfriend were taken into custody and booked into the Lake Havasu City Jail.
Investigators later obtained security footage from the business, which they said contradicted statements from Standberry and other witnesses. Police said the video showed the victim exchanging words with Standberry and others, but there was no sign of the victim acting aggressively.
As the man was talking to one of Standsbury's acquaintances, the video showed Standsbury getting up from his seat and lunging towards the man. During the incident, police say Stansberry pushed through several people to get to the victim and then grabbed him in a chokehold.
Officers reviewed CCTV footage and the victim and his girlfriend were detained by police for 75 minutes before being released. Standberry was later arrested on October 30th at a location on Bluegrass Drive.
