A lieutenant with the Sheriffโs Department has been informally disciplined after a citizen complained that he entered the manโs home without cause and with his gun drawn, documents show.
On May 15, Lt. Terry Parish was on his way to a neighborhood meeting when he heard a call on the radio about a theft in progress at a nearby Walgreens, according to his narrative of events in the Pima County Sheriffโs Department investigative report for the shoplifting incident.
Parish learned that officers at the scene had gotten a license plate number from the car the thief fled in, so he drove to the home that was associated with the plate, he wrote in the report.
The suspect, who was described as a man wearing a shirt with a marijuana leaf on it, was believed to have stolen cough syrups from the store.
Parish waited for backup, after which he and the deputy knocked on the front door several minutes with no response.
Parish said they could hear dogs barking inside the home.
A third deputy arrived, and Parish went to check the back of the house, encountering a โsmall unlocked gate,โ which he opened and walked through, according to the report.
Parish told the Star on Thursday that when he went around back, he was thinking that he would find the homeowner in the yard.
No one was in the yard, but Parish saw that the security screen on the back of the house was open, as was the inside door, and the doorknob appeared to be broken.
โAt this point I began to be concerned that the vehicle had been forcibly removed from the residence and a crime had been committed in it,โ Parish wrote in the report.
A second deputy came around back, and the two entered the house, announcing their presence.
Both Parish and the deputy had their guns drawn as they entered the home, which is standard whenever clearing a residence, he said Thursday, adding that his gun was never pointed at the man.
After making it a foot or two inside, Parish heard a man yelling and saw him standing inside next to the deputy who had been posted at the front door, the report said.
โThe middle-aged man was irate that we were at his house,โ Parish wrote in the report. โHe advised me at that point that ... I had no right to be here.โ
The homeowner told them that the car they were looking for was his and his son had already called and told him about an incident at Walgreens but claimed to have paid for the cough syrup he was accused of stealing, the report said.
Parish told the Star that based on the high-class neighborhood and the pristine condition of the home, the description of the suspect didnโt seem like a typical person who would be in the area.
Because of the stolen cough syrup and marijuana leaf shirt, Parish thought that the suspect might have some involvement with drugs, which he said โwasnโt consistent with the neighborhood.โ
After seeing the doorknob, which he said had obviously been forced open, Parish said that he then viewed the call as a welfare check.
โI was not looking for a shoplifter at that point,โ Parish said. โI didnโt think I had a choice. My concern was for the (residentโs) welfare.โ
When performing welfare checks, law enforcement officers do not need warrants to enter a private residence.
The department issued Parish a letter of counseling, which is considered informal discipline. He says he did not violate any department policies or rules.
The Sheriffโs Department did not respond to a September records request for the actual complaint and the review boardโs investigation into Parish.
