GOODYEAR, AZ — ABC15 has learned about a series of accidents and mistakes involving a Goodyear police officer who was put on administrative leave along with the department's chief and deputy chief.
Four people, including Chief Jerry Geier, Deputy Chief Justin Hughes, and Officer Kyle Cluff, were put on administrative leave in October. However, the City of Goodyear has refused to say why the four are under investigation.
ABC15 obtained 400 pages of internal documents regarding the disciplinary history of the Geier, Hughes, Cluff, and a civilian administrator. Most of the documents detail internal investigations of Cluff since late 2015.
Last year, Cluff shot at an armed robbery suspect who didn't actually have a weapon. Neither was hurt, and Cluff was found not to have violated the law or police policy.
In 2016, Cluff was looking for a graffiti suspect, he climbed a wall and tried to shine the light from his gun to see in the darkness. Instead, be fell off the wall and accidentally discharged his gun. The bullet struck the ground, and no one was hurt.
Cluff also backed his patrol car into another police vehicle in a parking lot in 2015. A year later, he pulled away from a gas pump with the nozzle still in his tank causing $200 dollars in damage. A supervisor counseled him about safe driving.
Officer Cluff, who has been on the force for 5 years, also once put a prisoner's phone and jewelry on top of another officer's car and may have forgotten to mention it. When the other officer drove away, the items fell off and were lost.
ABC15 Investigator Melissa Blasius covers policing and public safety issues. Got a news tip? Email her at Melissa.Blasius@abc15.com or follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
