On Monday, December 15th, 2014 at 10:30 p.m., a Pinal County Sheriff’s Detention Officer was collecting shaving razors in the dayroom of the jail, which was occupied by several inmates. Inmate Christopher Durazo (age 26 of Las Vegas) handed the detention officer the plastic handle of the shaving razor with his left hand and then used his right hand to slash the officer with the razor blade across the left side of his neck.
The officer received an 8-inch long razor blade cut across his neck. The officer called for backup and Durazo was taken to the ground and restrained.
The officer was taken to a local hospital to be treated for his injury.
Durazo was originally arrested by Las Vegas Metro Police Department on September 8th, 2014 for an outstanding warrant out of the Arizona Department of Corrections for Aggravated Assault on an Officer. On September 18th, 2014, he was booked into the Pinal County Sheriff’s Jail and was being held on a $20,000 bond for that warrant.
As a result of assaulting a Pinal County Sheriff’s Detention Officer, he has now been booked on a second count of Aggravated Assault on an Officer and is set for an initial appearance on this incident tomorrow.
Sheriff Paul Babeu stated, “Law enforcement has always been a dangerous profession because officers risk their lives to form a barrier between criminals and society. All of us who serve in our law enforcement profession understand the inherent risks we face on a daily basis. Despite being cut across the neck, our detention officer stayed calm and took control of the situation. Christopher Durazo will not see the outside of our jail now until he is transferred to the Arizona Department of Corrections where he will undoubtedly spend many years in prison.”