Overview
- Sgt. Dusten Mullen filed a lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to stop a planned pre-termination hearing and any discipline, arguing retaliation and due process violations.
- Mullen remains on paid administrative leave while the Professional Standards Bureau continues its internal review, and the department has limited public comment because of the ongoing case.
- In court filings, he says investigators skipped the required Investigative Review Process, did not review body camera footage, and canceled a follow-up interview, and he says he alerted a supervisor within 90 minutes of the incident.
- Phoenix police say Mullen failed to report the episode as policy requires, Chief Matt Giordano has said officers are held to a higher standard, and the suit names Giordano, the city, and Councilwoman Anna Hernandez as defendants.
- Chandler police records about the Jan. 30 student walkout say Mullen showed up masked and armed and told an officer he planned to let students assault him so they could be arrested, and prosecutors later declined to charge the student who was briefly detained.