The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has accepted responsibility for a failed DUI incident against a Phoenix police officer who fought a delegation and has launched an internal investigation to find out what happened.
Entry from the sheriff’s office phoenix new times We detailed this incident in our November 17th article.
“It’s up to us,” said Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Joaquín Henriquez. new times Shortly after the story was published. He said his agent had never referred the case to prosecutors, adding that the sheriff’s office’s Internal Affairs Department had launched an investigation.
Sheriff’s deputies arrested Phoenix Police Department officer Jason Halleman on July 3, 2021, after finding him unresponsive in a moving car on a residential street. According to incident documents, Hallemann had a bottle of alcohol.
While at the sheriff’s office substation, Hallemann became combative as deputies tried to process him and give him a blood test.1 minute video clip captured by new times He is about to fight them by yelling at lawmakers and telling them to “shut your mouth”.
Halleman’s blood test showed a blood alcohol level of 0.189, which is an extreme DUI under Arizona law and carries a 30-day prison sentence. He was never charged. He was also not charged with an altercation with lawmakers. The statute of limitations has since expired and Hallemann cannot be charged with DUI in the incident.
Arizona’s law enforcement oversight agency, the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, is investigating Hallemann. Phoenix police suspended him without pay for three weeks in September over the incident, according to AZPOST records, before he returned to work.
when new times After the Hallemann case was discussed at the AZPOST meeting in September, I first asked about the Hallemann case.
Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Calvert Gillette said in an email on Oct. new times The agency was not responsible for the late billing. “The MCSO has filed a claim for her DUI within the timeline defined by law and should be contacted. [the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office] As to why this case was never prosecuted,” Gillette said.
However, prosecutors said they never received a submission from the sheriff’s office.According to MCAO spokesperson Jennifer Liewer, the county attorney’s office did not approve of Hallemann’s charges after the initial subpoena. He said he “has no record” of receiving accusations and details regarding his blood alcohol level. new times in November.
November 7th, new times We have sent multiple requests to the Sheriff’s Office for more information and have informed the MCSO that prosecutors have denied the agency’s version of the events. The MCSO did not respond and did not disclose the agency’s role in the failed case until the article was published on November 17.
November 8th new times Asked again about the case, Enriquez said the sheriff’s office had launched an internal investigation into the case. A printed copy of the indictment was never provided to the county prosecutor. “It didn’t happen,” Enriquez explained.
“Why wasn’t it done, why did it take so long, and why didn’t you go downtown when the resubmission was done?
After the sheriff’s office took responsibility, Mr Liewer said: new times The county attorney’s office said it had nothing more to add. “I stand by my comment that this case has never been resubmitted to our office by her MCSO,” she said.
So far, the sheriff’s office has not had a clear answer as to why the case was not filed. “Sheriff Paul Penzone takes these matters very seriously,” he said. Told. “We will update you as soon as we have information about the release.”
But that can take some time. Penzone was recently held in contempt of court for contempt of court. This is a serious backlog of misconduct investigations he’s amassed over his six years running the sheriff’s office. Now it takes him 611 days to complete an average investigation. Full-scale investigations involving sworn delegates often take 800 days or more.
