Four ex-police officers facing sanctions by state agency

Three former Tucson police officers and a former member of the Sahuarita Police Department are facing sanctions by the state agency that regulates law enforcement officers.

On Wednesday, the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board voted to initiate proceedings against ex-Tucson Police officers Nathaniel Luttrell, Arick Martino and Reza Vafaie, said board spokeswoman, Sandy Sierra.

The board can choose to revoke or suspend their peace officer certifications, which allow them to practice law enforcement in Arizona.

Luttrell was fired last July after internal affairs found that he been in contact with women associated with the long-running prostitution ring “By Spanish,” AZPOST documents show.

He initially appealed his termination, but reached a settlement with the city in September. He withdrew his appeal and his disposition was changed to “resigned in lieu of termination,” the Star reported.

During the investigation into the business, detectives found Luttrell’s phone number in two phones belonging to the suspected operators of “By Spanish,” the documents said.

Luttrell told investigators he was looking at the website out of boredom, and although he made an appointment, never went because he thought it felt “shady.”

“Officer Luttrell had little recollection of the websites, however he was able to specifically recall the ads and how the addresses were only listed as cross streets,” the document says. “He was also able to recall the name and photograph of the masseuse, Ms. C, whom he scheduled his appointment with over two years ago, after claiming he’d only viewed the ad for a few minutes.”

During a polygraph, he admitted to thinking when he made the appointments that he might get sex. He also was deceptive in the polygraph, when saying that he’d never visited an illegal massage parlor for sexual intercourse, according to the documents.

In December, Luttrell told the AZPOST that he wanted to voluntarily relinquish his certification, but never responded to paperwork, voicemails and follow-up letters from the board, the documents say.

Excessive force case

Martino resigned from the TPD in January for an incident involving excessive force that occurred last summer.

On July 20, six officers, including Martino, responded to a disturbance in which the suspect resisted arrest. The man was placed face down on the ground, with his hands cuffed behind his back and his legs restrained, AZPOST documents say.

Still very agitated, the man struck his head against a nearby plastic trash can, after which Martino called the man a “jackass” and “dropped from a standing position onto the upper back of Mr. J with both knees, which Mr. J was still restrained.”

Two of the officers nearby immediately pushed Martino away from the suspect, according to the documents.

Martino told internal affairs detectives he used that amount of force because the suspect was attempting to self-mutilate, but interviews with other officers and body camera footage show no evidence of Martino’s claims, the documents say.

Investigators determined that because Martino called the man a derogatory name before applying force, that showed the intent to insult or provoke a restrained suspect.

Recruit dismissed

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Vafaie was hired by Tucson police Sept. 21 and dismissed from the academy three days later, when staff learned that he had lied on his application.

In 2008, Vafaie applied to TPD and listed multiple uses of cocaine, opium and steroids, all within the last two years, AZPOST documents say. The day after he applied, TPD’s background unit recommended he be permanently disqualified, and he was sent a letter to that effect.

After Vafaie had been hired and started the academy in September 2015, a TPD audit discovered that his previous application had been misfiled and the disqualification not discovered.

“To compound the issue, the AZPOST Statement of Personal History and Application for Certification he filled out (in June 2015) did not list any illegal drug use.”

In its subsequent investigation, AZPOST learned he also failed to disclose on some of his multiple TPD applications that he had applied previously. He passed the background interview, but never mentioned his 2008 disqualification. The discrepancy was discovered later, according to the documents.

Sahuarita investigation

Former Sahuarita police Officer Samuel Long came to an agreement with the board Wednesday accepting a three-year suspension of his certification, valid until April 2018, Sierra said.

Long was terminated in July 2015, after an investigation by Sahuarita police determined he had conducted an unauthorized undercover operation, AZPOST documents say.

Investigators learned that in 2014, Long used his personal cell phone and email to respond to a Craigslist advertisement for “Party and Play,” according to the documents.

Using the name “Rob,” Long exchanged sexually graphic emails with a man referred to as Mr. A for more than two weeks, eventually setting up an in-person meeting with Mr. A bringing drugs “to party,” the documents say.

On Nov. 11, 2014, while Long was on duty, he went to Sahuarita Lake Park, where he had arranged to meet Mr. A.

After the park closed, Long saw Mr. A throw litter out of his car, at which point Long requested a different officer come stop Mr. A’s car for trespassing and littering, the documents say.

When the car was searched, the officer discovered meth and Mr. A was charged with two felonies.

“After this event, Mr. A emailed (Long) and asked if he was Rob,” the documents say.

Long disposed of the cell phone he’d used to communicate with Mr. A, and closed the associated email account. Mr. A’s attorney discovered the arrest had resulted from an independent operation that wasn’t authorized by Sahuarita police, the documents say.

“(Long) did not tell any other officers of his plan, never advised prosecutors, and did not write any reports about his contacts with Mr. A or about his investigation.”

The charges against Mr. A were dismissed, and Long was fired from the department. Investigators were able to prove actions including neglect of duty, failure to preserve evidence, undertaking an investigation without permission and failure to write a complete report, documents say.

Formal complaints will be mailed to all the men, who may choose to have an AZPOST hearing with an administrative law judge.