GLENDALE, AZ — A former Glendale police officer criminally charged for kicking and tasering a handcuffed man in the groin has pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.
Matthew Schneider, who avoided jail time and probation, had been facing three felony aggravated assault charges.
The former officer addressed the judge ahead of his sentencing on Friday.
“Your honor, I’m standing before the court today as something in a million years I would never dreamed I’d be, a convicted criminal,” said Schneider, who was reading a prepared statement to the court. “As you know, I come from a law enforcement family… It’s hard to describe the shame I felt telling the people who raised me and were excellent role models, that I would be pleading guilty today. It was even harder when I had to tell my kids.”
He added, “I accept full responsibility for my actions on July 26, 2017. I tried to do my absolute best as a police officer and human being that day and it wasn’t good enough.”
In July 2017, Schneider and other officers repeatedly tasered Johnny Wheatcroft, who was the passenger in a vehicle stopped for an alleged blinker violation.
In front of his two children, Wheatcroft was tasered nearly a dozen times. Schneider delivered the final tase to a handcuffed Wheatcroft by pulling down his shorts and stunning him in the testicles, according to body camera video and a federal lawsuit.
In February 2019, ABC15 exposed body camera video of the disturbing incident, and it immediately drew national attention and outrage.
RELATED: COPS producer stages interview on show involving Glendale officer from tasering incident
Surveillance video also showed Schneider likely lied about witnessing the alleged blinker violation.
Multiple independent law enforcement experts also said Schneider’s conduct was unlawful and one of the most cruel and most troubling cases of police misconduct they’ve ever seen.
Without public exposure, it’s unlikely the case would have been investigated further.
The AG’s Office was forwarded the case in June 2020 by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. Under former County Attorney Bill Montgomery, MCAO initially declined to file charges against Schneider in 2017.
RELATED: Bullying, harassment inside Glendale Police Department
Before he was charged, Schneider forfeited his police officer certification; and Glendale approved an accident disability claim, which allows him to collect a pension and benefits.
During his sentencing hearing, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Patricia Starr said that she did not feel probation was necessary and expressed sympathy for Schneider.
“You’ve suffered for the last five and half years the consequences of what’s happened Your family has suffered the consequences of what happened. You’ve lost a lot of things that were very important to you,” Starr said. “What you did with that is now what a lot people would do, you picked yourself up, found something else and are now excelling at that. So, I would see no purpose what’s so ever to put you on probation… I see the loss of your career as a very severe punishment that’s already happened to you.”
Starr did order Schneider to pay fines and fees totaling $115.
“And that’s going to be my sentence. I think it’s time for everybody to move on,” Starr said.
Wheatcroft and his attorneys did not address the court about the plea deal. They are in the process of finalizing a confidential settlement for their federal civil rights lawsuit.
In a final statement before the court, prosecutor John Hudson did talk about the Attorney General’s Office’s plea deal.
“The behavior that happened that day was not only inappropriate, it was criminal. He has pled to a criminal action. That was the goal of this case,” Hudson said.
Contact ABC15 Chief Investigator Dave Biscobing at Dave@ABC15.com.
