According to the Phoenix Police Department, a criminal investigation that has identified two of the cops as “possibly suspects” has been opened as well as a separate internal investigation. The officers were reported to have found marijuana in his vehicle during the stop, Yahner said.
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The Phoenix Police Department has a strong history of holding officers accountable for their actions, and this includes seeking criminal charges whenever appropriate. Yahner said “termination was inevitable” if the officers hadn’t chosen to resign on their own.
Three Phoenix police officers have resigned after a man alleged they forced him to eat marijuana found in his vehicle to avoid going to jail, Chief Joseph Yahner said Thursday.
The officers’ video cameras were turned off and didn’t record the incident in which a 19-year-old Phoenix man was stopped for a traffic violation around 3:30 a.m. on September 13, Chief Yahner said. “This conduct is against everything that we stand for”, Yahner said.
Phoenix Police Chief Joe Yahner said he was appalled by the allegations and would take quick and appropriate action once the investigation is complete. The man said that he ate the marijuana, was issued traffic tickets and then was released from the scene.
He did say the man got sick from eating approximately one gram of marijuana.
Despite the incident, Yahner said Thursday he’s “confident in our hiring process”, and that the department will “do our due diligence as we move forward”.
The three officers who resigned were with the Phoenix Police Dept. for less than one year.
This undated photo provided by the Phoenix Police Department shows Officer Richard G. Pina. Farrior was a lieutenant for six months and a sergeant for seven years prior, Yahner said.
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Yahner called the allegations about the officers’ actions “disturbing and upsetting”. “I have directed our criminal and internal investigators to make their inquiries thorough and swift”.
