8 Sept 19th-Sept 25th, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Police Probes from p 6 information and lied during the investiga- tion. On April 1, 2024, Uyehara resigned before the investigation was completed. Domestic troubles On April 30 of last year, former Tempe police officer Jesse Bueno arrived unan- nounced and uninvited at his ex-girlfriend’s apartment in Chandler, according to AZPOST compliance specialist Michele Blanco. After Bueno refused his ex’s requests to leave, she called Chandler police, and Bueno was cited for trespassing. Blanco said that was one of several inci- dents, including allegations of domestic violence, involving Bueno over the course of eight months in 2023. Bueno already had left the Tempe Police Department at the time, though the circumstances of his departure are not clear. On Aug. 18 of that year, police arrested Bueno for criminal damage and disorderly conduct after he returned to his ex’s apart- ment and kicked the door several times. On Aug. 25, Bueno attempted to enter the apartment while his ex was not there and again was arrested for trespassing, which violated an order of protection instituted after the first arrest. AZPOST Executive Director Matt Giordano told the board at the meeting that AZPOST recommended a two-year certification suspension for the two August incidents. But Nicholas Klingerman, chief of the criminal division of the attorney general’s office, motioned for a three-year suspension until August 2026, after which Bueno’s certification would officially lapse. “Just based on the violations of the order of protection, the conduct — I view that as significantly factoring into the public’s trust of law enforcement,” Klingerman said. Klingerman’s motion passed unani- mously, and Bueno’s law enforcement license was suspended for 36 months. The suspension was the most severe punish- ment AZPOST doled out at the meeting. The board also opened an investiga- tion into William Lytle, a former officer with the Page Police Department. Shay told the board that in February, a justice of the peace ordered Lytle to avoid contact with his wife, who’d asked for protection from him. However, over the next two months, Lytle violated the order by calling her at least 16 times and texting her with threatening and demeaning messages seven times. Lytle was arrested and was indicted by a grand jury on May 16. He was fired less than a week later by the Page Police Department. Drunk driving Driving while intoxicated wasn’t enough for Mesa police officer William Falconer — he had to do it with his 2-year-old kid in the back seat. On Sept. 30, 2023, Falconer was doing doughnuts in his truck in a parking lot at the Tucson Speedway, according to compliance specialist Dave Toporek. When Pima County Sheriff’s deputies stopped Falconer, a deputy noted Falconer had red, watery, bloodshot eyes and smelled like alcohol. A breathalyzer test showed Falconer’s blood alcohol content was 0.107%, well above the legal limit of 0.08%. Falconer’s wife and brother-in-law were in the truck, as was Falconer’s 2-year-old son. The officer was booked on DUI and child abuse charges and was later indicted by a grand jury on Oct. 19. Mesa police fired him on Jan. 17 of this year. In February, according to Toporek, Falconer entered a plea agreement for endangerment (a class 6 undesignated felony) and a DUI (a class 1 misdemeanor). AZPOST voted unanimously to open an investigation on Falconer. Falconer wasn’t the only officer whose DUI antics were discussed during the meeting. The board suspended the license of former Tempe officer Sheden Mezenghie for 18 months after he crashed his car and was arrested for an extreme DUI in November of last year. Mezenghie’s blood alcohol content was measured at 0.191%, more than twice the legal limit, according to Assistant Attorney General Mark Brachtl. Brachtl said Mezenghie resigned from the department shortly after the incident. The Arizona Police Standards and Training Board disciplined six cops at its August meeting and opened investigations into others, including a former Maricopa County Sheriff’s deputy who handcuffed an 82-year-old woman. (Courtesy of Arizona Police Standards and Training Board)
