Protection order filed against former DPS head Frank Milstead over alleged assault and threats
PHOENIX - We have obtained court documents that show an Order of Protection was filed against Frank Lee Milstead, the former head of the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
According to the documents, a petition for an Order of Protection was filed on June 27, 2022 by a 46-year-old woman. The Order of Protection was also filed on behalf of an 18-year-old and a person who was 15 years old at the time.
We have opted to not identify the plaintiff and the two teens listed in the Order of Protection, due to privacy concerns.
Petition lists alleged incidents
Frank Milstead, during his time as the Director of Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS)
In the petition for the Order of Protection, the plaintiff, who is known to Milstead, listed a number of alleged incidents involving allegations of assault, harassment, threats or stalking, stretching back to the summer of 2021.
2021
According to the petition, it was alleged that in July of 2021, Milstead assaulted the plaintiff, with Milstead allegedly grabbing the plaintiff by the arms, and violently shaking the plaintiff, causing significant bruising.
The alleged incident, according to the petition, caused the plaintiff to fear Milstead to the point that the plaintiff reportedly sought professional psychological counseling and support.
March 2022
In this alleged incident, Milstead, according to the petition, allegedly made what was described as "thinly veiled violent threats" against the plaintiff.
The petition also provided a transcription of sorts for the conversation involving the alleged threats.
"I’m going to make sure you understand me. If you [expletive] me, you will regret it for the rest of your life," Milstead allegedly said to the plaintiff.
"How?" the plaintiff allegedly asked Milstead, in response.
"You just figure it out," Milstead allegedly said. "You'll know when it happens."
"Is that a threat?" the plaintiff allegedly asked Milstead.
"No, it's a promise," Milstead allegedly said, in response.
April 2022
It was alleged that in early April of 2022, Milstead was put on notice that the plaintiff did not wish to have any further contact with him, and that he was not welcome at the plaintiff's home. In addition, Milstead was reportedly told that he is not welcome to communicate with the two teenagers listed in the petition.
Milstead, according to the petition, acknowledged the plaintiff's wishes in a text on April 15.
"I apologize for all the contact. I know that's not wanted, and I know I've been instructed not to," Milstead allegedly wrote.
However, Milstead, according to the petition, continued to contact the plaintiff and the two teens listed in the petition regularly, via e-mail, phone, text, and in person.
"[Plaintiff] has kept a contact log since April 1, 2022," according to allegations made in the petition. "To date, the log records approximately 200 calls, texts, e-mails, voice messages, pictures, songs, and in-person intrusions. [Plaintiff] has at least two video recordings of instances when Mr. Milstead appeared, uninvited and unannounced, at [the plaintiff's home] for the purpose of intimidating and harassing her."
In another alleged incident in April, the plaintiff claims that Milstead drove his car into the driveway of the plaintiff's home, as the plaintiff returned home from work.
"[The plaintiff] immediately asked Mr. Milstead to leave. He immediately began yelling, gesturing erratically, and angrily referencing some piece of property he believed was at [the plaintiff's home]," according to the petition. "[The plaintiff] attempted to block Mr. Milstead's way into the home, but he again accosted [the plaintiff], physically overpowering [the plaintiff], and forced his way in."
The plaintiff's sister, according to the petition, witnessed what happened, and eventually told Milstead that she intended to call 911 if he did not leave.
"Mr. Milsstead turned on [the plaintiff's sister] and began baiting her to make the call, saying that he ‘had nothing to lose,’" according to allegations made in the petition.
June 2022
The petition alleges that in June of 2022, Milstead reached out to the two teens listed in the petition in an attempt to discover the plaintiff's whereabouts.
"[Milstead] called [the plaintiff] from a phone that had a blocked caller ID, and thereafter texted [the plaintiff] to let her know that he intends to be in Laguna Beach CA at the same time as her annual family vacation. To [the plaintiff's knowledge], [Milstead] has no friends, acquaintances or other legitimate business in Laguna Beach," read a portion of the petition.
The petition also lists another alleged incident on June 23, 2022, where Milstead allegedly texted the plaintiff.
"'There is nothing you have done that I can't forgive you for, but it has to be you and I until death do us part,'" read a portion of the petition.
Order of Protection served on Milstead
According to court documents, the Order of Protection was served on Milstead on June 28, 2022.
Under the Order of Protection, Milstead is ordered to not have contact with the plaintiffs, and is also ordered not to go to or near the Plaintiffs' home, workplace, schools, and other places that were redacted from the court documents.
Milstead responds to allegations
In a statement released via officials with the law firm Zwillinger Wulkan PLC, Milstead said that he has "never harmed, or tried to harm," the woman listed as the plaintiff in the Order of Protection, and categorized the petition for an Order of Protection as "a transparent attempt to gain leverage in connection with a civil claim."
In the same statement, Milstead alleges that the plaintiff waited almost a year to seek an order of protection, and that the order of protection was only sought after the plaintiff learned that Milstead was going to sue her.
"Mr. Milstead took a polygraph test, which unequivocally shows that he never grabbed or shook [the woman], as she claims," read a portion of the statement. "It is a shame that [the plaintiff] would use a process meant to protect victims of domestic violence to gain leverage in a business dispute to avoid paying money she owes."
According to court documents we obtained in connection with the civil dispute that was mentioned by Milstead's lawyers, Milstead sued the woman who sought the Order of Protection, alleging the woman owes Milstead at least $60,000, while also alleging that the woman and Milstead are in the midst of a property dispute.
According to Milsted's lawyer, a Notice of Claim was sent to the person listed as the plaintiff in the Order of Protection petition in April 2022. The lawsuit was officially filed in September 2022.
Milstead retired from DPS in 2020
Milstead served as DPS' director for six years, stepped down from his role at the agency in 2020.
At the time, Milstead said he is "moving on to better things."
Milstead's replacement as DPS Director, Heston Silbert, was confirmed in March 2020.