20 Aug 15th-Aug 21st, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | natural one for victims, said Jenna Panas, the CEO of the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence. She explained that victims stay in abusive rela- tionships for a number of reasons: fear of separation from their children; fear of being killed; fear of being ostracized by family, friends and peers. But it’s not surprising — or at least shouldn’t be — that someone in so lofty a law enforcement position could also expe- rience domestic abuse. Panas said that data from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics suggests one in four women and one in 10 men experience domestic violence during their lifetimes. “It happens across all educational spec- trums,” she said “It happens across all levels of professional accomplishment, and it happens across all incomes.” The alleged abuse never became public, but Adel was politically taken down anyway. Though she instituted a number of reforms — including establishing a zero- tolerance policy for sexual harassment, revamping the county’s diversion program to make it more accessible and allowing gay couples in-house representation in uncontested adoptions — Adel was weighed down by her controversies. She caught the most flak for her office’s decision to charge 15 anti-police brutality demonstrators arrested in October 2020 with a variety of serious offenses while claiming they were members of a street gang. Local reporting, including from ABC 15’s Dave Biscobing, exposed that narrative as bogus. The saga further put a target on Adel’s back. When her addiction issues resurfaced early in 2022, an Arizona Republic colum- nist criticized Adel for being “less than forthcoming” about her health, alcohol use and “other personal challenges.” The day her resignation took effect, protesters cheered outside her office. Adel spent her last day as county attorney at the Mayo Clinic. Dominguez saw her there that day. “She looked like death already,” he said. “She was in bad shape.” He asked where her husband was. She rolled her eyes and told him that DeNitto dropped her off at the curb before going to work. Dominguez said he helped Adel check in and accompanied her to her room, step- ping outside when doctors came in to speak with her. When he returned, Adel was crying. She told him her liver and kidneys were shot and that doctors gave her three months to live. “They said there’s no cure. I’m going to die,” Dominguez remembered her saying. “I can’t die, Rudy. I’ve got babies.” Dominguez and Adel talked for a while longer, promising to reconnect when she was discharged. “But she never made it out,” Dominguez said. “That was the last time I saw her.” Adel’s time as county attorney remains controversial. But the people who knew Adel want the public to know what she endured privately. She meant well, they say, despite her flaws and missteps. “She cared,” said the friend who became her confidant. “She really cared.” Copple expressed a similar sentiment. She remembered that her former boss liked to say, “I want to do the right thing for the right reason.” The anonymous former colleague who spoke with New Times believes Adel was in a no-win situation. “She never had a chance,” he said. “She wanted to do the right thing and do good for people, and I think it just ended up hurting her.” He now has “a lot of regrets” about not pressing her more about his suspicion that she was being abused. “Would it have changed anything with her? Probably not,” he said, trailing off. He sighed and reconsidered. “Maybe,” he said, “she would have listened.” “SHE WANTED TO DO THE RIGHT THING AND DO GOOD FOR PEOPLE, AND I THINK IT JUST ENDED UP HURTING HER.” Bruises, Fights from p 18 Allister Adel’s remains are interred in the mausoleum of St. Francis Catholic Cemetery in Phoenix. (Photo by Stephen Lemons)
