PHOENIX — A Maricopa County Superior Court judge dismissed the criminal case against the woman who was charged with negligent homicide in the on-duty traffic death of Phoenix Police Officer Paul Rutherford.
After a three-day hearing, Hon. Joseph Kreamer found the state lacked probable cause in the years-long case against Nubia Rodriguez.
“I am so sorry for the loss of Officer Rutherford, and I wish wasn’t here giving the news to his family, but I am. And I’m sorry that’s the case,” Kreamer said. “I’m also sorry for the pain that has continued for others including Ms. Rodriguez. But I have to rule as best I can on the evidence that is in front of me.”
The judge added, “What matters is (Rutherford) appeared from a place he shouldn’t have been to a regular driver. Whether he was an officer or not, he ran out in front of her.”
Rodriguez burst into tears as Kreamer announced his decision.
Members of the Rutherford family and other officers who attended the hearing remained silent and quickly left the courtroom after the judge’s ruling.
“It was a relief. I feel like I can finally breathe, I can move forward with my life,” Rodriguez said in a brief interview following the hearing. “This has been a very difficult process. It’s been three-and-a-half years. Aside from the financial losses, I was in the process of adopting my foster daughter, which she got removed on the day of her birthday. And so, I haven’t seen her in a very long time.”
On March 21, 2019, Rodriguez hit Rutherford in the two-way turn lane on Indian School Road near 75th Avenue.
Rutherford, who wasn’t wearing a safety vest, was working a traffic accident when he suddenly ran into traffic without looking both ways.
Last month, the high-profile case was remanded back to the grand jury because the court found police and prosecutors presented false testimony and biased evidence to jurors in order to get the charges.
Rather than re-present the case to a grand jury, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office decided to bring the matter before a judge in a preliminary hearing.
Contact ABC15 Chief Investigator Dave Biscobing at Dave@ABC15.com.
