Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu acted on Monday in regard the controversial September 12 arrest of a mother and daughter by a Pinal County deputy. Babeu said the deputy has been placed on paid leave because he is “concerned as to how this incident was handled.”
“It has been my priority as sheriff to assure that all of the people we serve are treated fairly and professionally, and that deputies know how to make the appropriate decisions when faced with confrontational persons,” said Babeu in a statment released on Monday.
“This past weekend, one of our deputies had a confrontation with a juvenile shoplifter and her mother that escalated into a physical struggle resulting in our deputy using intermediate weapons to affect the arrests,” sai Babeu. “After reviewing the preliminary reports, I am concerned as to how this incident was handled. I am concerned that the deputy may not have done everything possible to avoid a physical confrontation while performing his public duties.”
Babeu said his deputies “have a duty to investigate crimes of all nature and respond appropriately when faced with confrontational persons. However, we also have a duty to treat all people professionally, and have the appropriate response to try and de-escalate situations, while keeping everyone involved safe.”
“In response to my concerns, I have asked our Professional Standards Unit to open an internal investigation into the deputies’ actions during this incident,” said Babeu. “As well, I have also placed one deputy on paid administrative leave while we investigate this incident.”
Babeu said he wants to “assure the public that we have a thorough review process in place for use-of-force incidents such as these and that process has begun. I have asked our Professional Standards staff to thoroughly and expeditiously investigate all the circumstances of these arrests and share the results with our command staff. Once the process is complete, it is our intent to share the results of this investigation with the public.”
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