8 July 23rd - July 29th, 2026 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Questions? Feedback? Email me at [email protected] • Follow me on RATING (out of 5 McFly’s) THE SUV THAT MAKES YOU WANT TO INVADE A MOUNTAIN LAND ROVER 2026 DEFENDER 130 X The 2026 Defender 130 X The 2026 Defender 130 X costs $110,710, gets 16 MPG in costs $110,710, gets 16 MPG in the city and 20 on the highway, the city and 20 on the highway, and has all the subtlety of showing and has all the subtlety of showing up to a neighborhood barbecue in up to a neighborhood barbecue in medieval armor. It’s enormous. It’s medieval armor. It’s enormous. It’s unapologetic. It looks like it was unapologetic. It looks like it was designed by people who believe designed by people who believe roads are merely suggestions. roads are merely suggestions. Even parked outside your local Even parked outside your local coffee shop, it somehow gives coffee shop, it somehow gives off the impression that you’ve off the impression that you’ve just returned from a month-long just returned from a month-long expedition through the Scottish expedition through the Scottish Highlands instead of a quick stop Highlands instead of a quick stop at Costco. That’s the Defender’s at Costco. That’s the Defender’s superpower. It turns ordinary superpower. It turns ordinary errands into imaginary adventures. errands into imaginary adventures. Under the hood sits a 3.0-liter Under the hood sits a 3.0-liter inline-six mild hybrid producing inline-six mild hybrid producing 395 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of 395 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque, and it moves this rolling torque, and it moves this rolling fortress with surprising urgency. fortress with surprising urgency. Mash the throttle and the Defender Mash the throttle and the Defender doesn’t leap forward so much as doesn’t leap forward so much as politely inform the laws of physics politely inform the laws of physics they’d better figure something out. they’d better figure something out. The ride is remarkably composed The ride is remarkably composed for something that can climb for something that can climb mountains, ford streams, and mountains, ford streams, and probably survive the apocalypse. probably survive the apocalypse. It’s equally comfortable cruising It’s equally comfortable cruising through Scottsdale as it is crawling through Scottsdale as it is crawling over rocks you’ll never actually over rocks you’ll never actually attempt because, let’s be honest, attempt because, let’s be honest, this thing is way too pretty to this thing is way too pretty to introduce to a cactus. The fact that introduce to a cactus. The fact that it can tow over 8,000 pounds is just it can tow over 8,000 pounds is just Land Rover showing off. Land Rover showing off. The best part of the Defender The best part of the Defender 130 X isn’t the luxury interior 130 X isn’t the luxury interior or the endless list of off-road or the endless list of off-road technology. It’s the feeling you technology. It’s the feeling you get every time you climb inside. get every time you climb inside. Every drive feels important. Every drive feels important. Every parking lot feels like base Every parking lot feels like base camp. Sure, $110,710 is enough camp. Sure, $110,710 is enough money to make your accountant money to make your accountant briefly lose consciousness, and briefly lose consciousness, and the fuel economy won’t have the fuel economy won’t have environmentalists sending you environmentalists sending you thank-you cards. But nobody thank-you cards. But nobody buys a Defender because they’re buys a Defender because they’re trying to save money. They buy trying to save money. They buy one because life is more fun when one because life is more fun when your SUV looks ready to rescue your SUV looks ready to rescue stranded hikers on Saturday stranded hikers on Saturday and valet at a five-star resort on and valet at a five-star resort on Sunday. The Defender 130 X isn’t Sunday. The Defender 130 X isn’t transportation. It’s confidence with transportation. It’s confidence with a tow hitch. a tow hitch. Comfort: Value: Fuel Economy: Looks: The Drive: Safety & Security: Overall: Sound System: Bells & Whistles: Burn Notice Judge says woman cops held on hot pavement can sue for excessive force. BY CLARISSA SOSIN A woman suing the city of Phoenix and its police department after she suffered severe burns while being held down on hot pavement during an arrest may continue to pursue an excessive force claim, a federal judge ruled this week. However, the judge dismissed her claim of unlawful seizure and false arrest, writing that the arresting officers had sufficient probable cause to detain her. Last May, Clarissa Sabedra sued the department over the arrest, which resulted in admission to a Valleywise Health burn unit, where she underwent a debridement to remove damaged tissue. She initially faced resisting arrest and disorderly conduct charges, but both were ultimately dismissed. Sabedra, who is now 29, was arrested on June 1, 2024, by Phoenix police offi- cers responding to reports of a domestic dispute. According to video and court documents, Sabedra went limp when officers Kyle Snider and Nicholas Gastelum tried to get her out of a chair on the shaded porch where she was sitting so they could handcuff her. They then moved her limp body out of the shady porch onto a patch of pavement in the sun, where the officers held her down, with Snider straddling her, for about two minutes while they cuffed her. The officers responded to the call around 1 p.m., just a couple of hours before the temperature typically peaks. According to the lawsuit, temperatures reached 107 degrees that day, meaning pavement surface temperatures could reach 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Sabedra was wearing shorts while the officers held her down for those two minutes, and several bystanders yelled at the offi- cers that she was suffering burns. On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Dominic W. Lanza ruled that the officers were not protected by qualified immu- nity against Sabedra’s excessive force claim, a legal standard that requires a plaintiff to prove that an officer know- ingly violated the law or their rights. In a motion to dismiss, the city argued that the officers used the correct amount of force given the situation because Sabedra was resisting arrest and therefore a threat to public safety. Lanza disagreed, noting that Sabedra didn’t “make any aggressive statements to the Defendant Officers, she did not attempt to flee or harm the Defendant Officers, and she did not attempt to reach for any sort of weapon.” She was non- compliant, the judge acknowledged. But she was not actively resisting arrest in a way that required what he called a “non- trivial amount of force.” “Officers used non-trivial force in pressing her against the hot pavement for two minutes, even as she was screaming in pain and bystanders were raising concerns about the burns,” Lanza wrote. “Given the non-severe nature of the alleged crime, the absence of any threat to the Defendant Officers or the public, and Plaintiff’s passive resistance, Plaintiff has done enough to state a valid claim for excessive force.” In a footnote, Lanza noted that Sabedra had been charged with “resisting arrest by passive resistance,” not active resistance, undermining the city’s claim that she posed a danger to the officers. One claim dismissed Sabedra also sued the city under a Monell claim, which holds municipalities respon- sible for constitutional violations by their employees. She claimed Phoenix police lacked sufficient training about the dangers of holding people on hot pavement — Lanza’s ruling notes the city has Clarissa Sabedra is suing Phoenix police, claiming she suffered severe burns on her legs when police held her on hot pavement in June 2024. (Provided by MayesTelles) >> p 11 | NEWS |
