8 Oct 22nd - Oct 28th, 2026 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | The Full George Floyd Violent arrest could cost taxpayers seven figures. BY STEPHEN LEMONS T he false arrest and thuggish treatment of an 18-year-old high school student by Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller’s chief investigator, Richard “Hank” Mueller, may leave county taxpayers on the hook for close to $1 million to avoid an even more costly lawsuit. A notice of claim filed with Pinal County on Sept. 16 by attorneys for Rayvion Johnson demands an $800,000 settlement to head off further litigation regarding a March 26 traffic stop that went wrong. Mueller, a disgraced cop, inexpli- cably body-slammed and roughed up Johnson during the encounter. Johnson’s claim is accompanied by a 28-second video shot by a witness to his arrest in Casa Grande. It shows a skinny, 5-foot-7-inches, 150-pound Johnson standing with his back to a beefy Mueller, his fingers dutifully laced behind his head. To one side is the electronic bike Johnson was riding home from school when Mueller, in an unmarked vehicle, flashed his lights and ordered Johnson to stop, supposedly for running a stop sign. Johnson, who has no criminal history and had never been arrested before, appears to be shaking with fear when Mueller wraps his arms around Johnson and slams the young man to the ground. Johnson screams for help as Mueller drives his knee into his back. As first reported by Phoenix New Times, Johnson was booked into jail on two misdemeanor counts — lying to a law enforcement officer and “obstructing governmental operations” — as well as one felony count of resisting arrest. Johnson spent a night in jail before he was released on his own recognizance. Johnson “presented absolutely no threat to Mueller,” and “no reasonable police officer and certainly no one in the commu- nity would believe Mueller’s actions were appropriate or justified,” according to the demand letter, which is a formal prelude to a lawsuit. Mueller’s employer, the Pinal County Attorney’s Office, apparently concurred, declining to prosecute Johnson just days after he was arrested. Mueller’s police report belied the stated reason for at least one of the charges. Mueller contended that Johnson “lied” when he supposedly told Mueller he was 17. But Mueller also acknowledged that Johnson gave Mueller his correct date of birth, which is how Mueller knew Johnson turned 18 in January. Weirdly, Mueller wrote that his “sense of caution” had been “heightened” by several factors prior to the takedown, including that Johnson was “in a high crime area” and “wearing baggy clothing” and a “hooded sweatshirt.” In other words, Johnson was bicycling while Black, heading back to his mom’s modest bungalow after taking a test at the high school he attended. As a consequence of needlessly tackling Johnson, Mueller claimed he “sustained multiple abrasions” to both of his hands and his right wrist, which seems laughable given the difference in size between the two. Johnson, however, came away from the encounter with wounds to his arms, legs and head, as he demonstrated to New Times in April. At the time, Johnson was still fright- ened by the encounter, which he believed to be the result of “racial discrimination.” Asked about the role race played in the incident, Benjamin Taylor, one of Johnson’s attorneys, told New Times that he didn’t like to invoke “the race card,” but when it came to Mueller’s checkered law enforcement career, “you could suspect all of the above just by looking at his reputation.” As New Times has previously reported, Mueller, 44, has a long, sordid history as a law enforcement official that involves being booted from the Pinal County >> p 10 A screenshot of video showing Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller’s chief investigator, Richard “Hank” Mueller, during a violent arrest on March 26. (Screenshot by Clarissa Sosin) | NEWS |