TEMPE, AZ — Three Tempe police officers are accused of excessive force after a man in a fast-food bathroom was Tased more than a dozen times and punched repeatedly in the head.
Members of the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board (AZPOST) say the incident happened nearly a year ago but was never made public until now.
"Yo! What are you doing? Sit down. Sit down! Sit! Down! (inaudible) Sit down,” a Tempe officer could be heard on bodycam footage.
The video from September 11, 2022, got its first public showing Wednesday morning.
"Typically, we are notified by agencies by law or by rule. Agencies are required to notify AZPOST when an officer separates employment, “ said AZPOST Director Matt Giordano.
But, Giordano tells ABC15 what the video shows happening inside a fast-food restaurant's bathroom did not get the three officers fired or make them resign.
In fact, Giordano revealed AZPOST only learned of this after someone recently sent a letter detailing the September incident.
When asked how they got the letter, Giordano said it was anonymous.
"We believed that all three officers engaged in what we believed to be rule violations at the AZPOST level. That's why we brought them up for the board's consideration of possible sanctions for their certifications,” added Giordano.
AZPOST board members cleared two of those officers but decided to move forward with possibly sanctioning Sergeant Latasha Hampton. A statement from the department says she is a 22-year veteran officer with the department. The board learned she was working as a backup to another officer when the incident occurred.
"Get your hands out of your pockets! Get your hands out of your pockets. Hey! What is that? Show me your hand dude,” said an officer shown in the video.
The board noted Hampton deployed a Taser 13 times on a man accused of trespassing.
AZPOST’s investigators found issues with nine of the 13 Taser shocks from Hampton. Officers are also seen punching the man repeatedly in the head. But the board voted to only move forward with the investigation into Hampton.
"Officers have full due process rights. So, we will work them and maybe try to adjudicate this case through a consent agreement for a period of suspension time,” added Giordano.
The Tempe Police Department sent the case to Mesa Police Department to investigate. Tempe PD officials tell ABC15 they have a 180-day time limit to complete investigations, and because it took longer none of the officers could be disciplined under their policy, the department said.
The city of Tempe and the Tempe Police Department provided the following statement to ABC15:
In late July 2023, Tempe’s new city manager, new interim deputy city manager and new police chief learned about a use of force incident that occurred in September 2022. That incident is the subject of review by the Arizona Peace Officers Standards and Training (AZPOST) Board. Immediately upon learning about the incident, Tempe’s leaders implemented a comprehensive review of the incident and the city’s response to the incident.
The officers’ body camera footage and the department’s Internal Affairs investigation showed that the use of force in this incident was outside of our department’s standards. All three officers received retraining about the use of force policy. Regrettably, because TPD’s 180-day time limit to complete such investigations was exceeded, no discipline could be considered regarding this incident.
Such incidents simply will not be tolerated in our city, or by our leadership team. Accountability is of paramount importance to maintaining trust with public safety. The city is committed to fully understanding and correcting any mistakes that may have been made in this incident and its investigation and ensuring that they will be prevented in the future.
Today, the AZPOST Board concluded that its organization would commence an investigation into the use of force employed by one of the three officers on scene, Sgt. Latasha Hampton, a 22-year Tempe Police officer. Tempe Police Chief Ken McCoy has placed Sgt. Hampton on restricted duty, providing no direct law enforcement services, until the outcome of the AZPOST investigation.
The Tempe Officers Association also sent the following statement to ABC15:
The Tempe Officers Association fully cooperated with the Tempe PD and the Mesa PD during those agencies' investigations of this September 2022 use-of-force incident, which today was reviewed by AZPOST. Similarly, the TOA will fully cooperate with AZPOST during its investigation of one of the three officers involved. As always, TOA's leadership and our members stand committed to respect for all members of the community we serve, and for keeping Tempe safe while exercising integrity and fairness. No one individual, no snippet of video, and no single incident encapsulates what it means to be an officer on the street in 2023. We will always strive to do better, while doing so with transparency and accountability.
ABC15 is working to learn what happens next and why none of the officers were disciplined by the department until now.
