Overview
- Maricopa County prosecutors filed a Direct Complaint charging Sgt. Edward Fire with first-degree hindering prosecution, a Class 5 felony that moves a case forward without a grand jury.
- Investigators say the on-duty sergeant received an internal notice about a Chandler police SWAT raid, then texted a neighbor, asked if he was home, and made a brief call minutes before the operation.
- Police surveillance captured the neighbor moving a backpack to another person’s truck, and officers later found a Polymer80 handgun, 31 rounds, methamphetamine, and cocaine inside.
- Court records identify the neighbor as a convicted felon barred from having guns, and Chandler police say the alleged tip created a serious and needless threat to officer safety.
- Mesa police placed Fire on unpaid leave and opened an internal review, Chandler police are leading the criminal probe, and prosecutors plan to place Fire on the Rule 15/Brady list as claims he sold the gun remain uncharged.