Phoenix Police sergeant at center of anti-ICE protest controversy on administrative leave

PHOENIX - Phoenix Police Chief Matt Giordano says one of the department's officers has been placed on administrative leave, following a recent incident that happened while the officer is off-duty.

What we know:

The administrative leave was announced in a statement released on April 10, which reads:

"I wanted to address a recent incident involving an off-duty officer in a neighboring city.

As law enforcement professionals, we are held to higher standards of conduct – both in and out of uniform. Our community expects integrity, accountability, and sound judgment from every member of this Department, and I expect the same. When we fall short, we must be accountable, and we will not tolerate actions which undermine the trust the community has placed in the Department.

The incident is under investigation and that process will soon conclude. The completed investigation report will ultimately come to me for review and action after a thorough and fair assessment of the facts. In the meantime, the employee has been placed on administrative leave.

As the Chief of the Phoenix Police Department, I remain committed to building and maintaining community trust, transparency, and accountability. I am taking this matter very seriously, and I will communicate my findings publicly as soon as they are made."

The backstory:

While Chief Giordano's statement did not mention the officer by name, we have been reporting on an incident involving Sergeant Dusten Mullen in recent days.

Per our first report on the incident on April 6, officials with the Chandler Police Department said a teenage girl was arrested on Jan. 30 outside Hamilton High School, and accused of throwing a water bottle at someone supporting ICE.

According to a report we obtained, however, a Chandler Police officer assigned to the protest said when a student pointed out a man with a full-face mask who seemed suspicious, he was seen walking back behind a palm tree. That man was later confirmed to be Mullen.

When the officer approached Mullen, he was arguing with students, telling them to "grow up and act like adults." He told the officer he wasn’t happy about kids flying flags that hit his car. The officer, however, says he never saw any flags touch the car.

The report states that students then became agitated, chanting and following Mullen, who they believed was an ICE agent. The Chandler officer advised him to take his protest elsewhere due to the volatile situation.

Dig deeper:

At the time of the incident, Mullen was armed with an exposed handgun in a holster and two extra handgun magazines.

Chandler Police’s report documents Mullen saying, "My plan is legitimately to just let them all assault me and you guys arrest them all, and I’ll keep it on film. I also have other people filming from a distance."

According to police, Mullen also said that more protesters in support of him were on the way, some armed with rifles, going on to say his goal was to "get all these kids in jail if they want to break the law."

"Does that not look like a threat to bring backup to a high school walk out?" we asked Mullen's lawyer, Steve Serbalik.

"So, I can’t talk about that specific quote or that specific issue, because that is a direct element of the Phoenix Police Department Professional Standards Bureau inquiry. I’ll just refer you back to what happened in the Chandler Police report, which is saying that that’s not an illegal act at that point in time."

As for the girl who allegedly threw a water bottle at Mullen, it was later found that the incident involved a cup of water, and not a bottle. Per the report, Mullen did not identify himself until he wished to press charges against the student allegedly involved. He later got a police escort out of the area.

"No one should be splashing water or ice or throwing anything at anyone when they’re out in public," said Serbalik. "That is, by definition under Arizona law, an assault."

Police later submitted misdemeanor charges of assault and disorderly conduct against the girl to juvenile court, but the Maricopa County Attorney's Office declined to prosecute, due to no likelihood of conviction.

Mullen's attorney speaks out

We spoke with Serbalik prior to Giordano's announcement. At the time, Serbalik said Mullen was reassigned to work from home, and will work without his badge or service weapon.

The other side:

"Did the masking have anything to do with them trying to hide the fact about his day job?" we asked Serbalik.

"I can’t speak to what masking does for protesters. I know that that’s a common thing that’s happening nowadays. People that are protesting or counter protesting are often wearing masks," Serbalik replied.

"Was Dusten in fear for his safety that day?" we asked Serbalik.

"At various times, based off of the information on the Chandler Police report, it appears that he was assaulted, and I don’t think anyone would want to have water thrown on them when they’re in a public place, obeying the law," 

"So why did he appear to stay, if he felt that he was being threatened or being assaulted at that time?" we asked Serbalik.

"There’s a number of factors related to that, and this is one of the things that I talked about in my statement that should be investigated, and the sequence of events should be thoroughly documented," Serbalik answered. "If a protester has a right to be in an area, does a counter-protester have to be have the right to be in that area as well? I think the Chandler Police report also talks about the fact that when Sergeant Mullen left or was attempting to leave, he’s being followed by the crowd that was there."

"Can the citizens of Phoenix, trust him on their streets?" 

"Let’s take that and break it down a little bit. So let’s say about half the country supports President Trump, half the country does not support President Trump. If you attend a rally in favor of one or the other, you’re going to have people that are upset. If you’re doing that in uniform on duty, the expectation is that you’ll be neutral and not offer an opinion, but what I wouldn’t want is for a condition of being a police officer is that you’re not able to participate in a debate that is going on in the country. He’s been a supervisor who served his community well, and the expectation is that his rights and responsibilities will be fairly weighed, and if any discipline imposed that it would be fair and proportional to any misconduct that’s found."

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