Ex-sheriff’s deputy investigated for handcuffing 82-year-old woman

During an Aug. 21 meeting, Arizona's law enforcement watchdog issued punishments for six law enforcement officers, including several who were the subject of drunk driving and domestic abuse allegations.

The Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, or AZPOST, licenses all law enforcement officers in the state and is one of the few agencies in Arizona with the power to discipline police. As of its August meeting, AZPOST has opened 43 investigations into officers and punished 29 this year.

The 12-member board includes Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, two rural sheriffs, Phoenix City Councilmember Kevin Robinson and Ryan Thornell, director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry. Its principal task is certifying all officers across the state, but it also has the power to revoke or suspend the certifications of officers who demonstrate troubling behavior.

This year, the board has punished officers for putting the muzzle of a gun to a woman’s head, asking two high school girls when they lost their virginity, driving while under the influence, domestic abuse and lying to superiors or investigators.

In June, the board gave former Peoria officer Danielle Trouton her certification back after it had been taken from her months earlier. Trouton resigned from the Peoria Police Department last year after an internal investigation revealed that she made an arrest in a domestic violence incident without enough probable cause.

‘I could have shot her’

The board also opened an investigation into Michael Uyehara of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, whose heavy-handed response to an 82-year-old woman using a cane was shown on video during the meeting.

On Oct. 2, 2022, Uyehara responded to a call from a woman in Sun City who said her husband had shot himself. A paramedic told Uyehara that a neighbor was coming over, specifying that she used a cane. Uyehara denied her entry, according to the video played at the meeting.

“She called me,” the woman responded, referencing the wife of the deceased man. “She needs me.” As she tried to get Uyehara to “listen for one second,” he threatened to arrest her and then handcuffed her. The woman later complained to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, claiming Uyehara bruised her wrists and arm.

The office conducted an internal investigation that found Uyehara made at least seven inaccurate statements in his report of the incident — including that the woman tried to push past him to enter the house, which was directly contradicted by video evidence.

When internal investigators asked Uyehara if he could have done anything differently, compliance specialist Tim Shay told the board, the officer said, “Yeah, I could have shot her. I could have tased her. I could have kick-swept her foot and knocked her to the ground.”

The internal investigation found Uyehara used excessive force, failed to provide accurate information and lied during the investigation. On April 1, 2024, Uyehara resigned before the investigation was completed.

Domestic troubles

On April 30 of last year, former Tempe police officer Jesse Bueno arrived unannounced and uninvited at his ex-girlfriend’s apartment in Chandler, according to AZPOST compliance specialist Michele Blanco. After Bueno refused his ex’s requests to leave, she called Chandler police, and Bueno was cited for trespassing.

Blanco said that was one of several incidents, including allegations of domestic violence, involving Bueno over the course of eight months in 2023. Bueno already had left the Tempe Police Department at the time, though the circumstances of his departure are not clear.

On Aug. 18 of that year, police arrested Bueno for criminal damage and disorderly conduct after he returned to his ex’s apartment and kicked the door several times. On Aug. 25, Bueno attempted to enter the apartment while his ex was not there and again was arrested for trespassing, which violated an order of protection instituted after the first arrest.

AZPOST Executive Director Matt Giordano told the board at the meeting that AZPOST recommended a two-year certification suspension for the two August incidents. But Nicholas Klingerman, chief of the criminal division of the attorney general’s office, motioned for a three-year suspension until August 2026, after which Bueno’s certification would officially lapse.

“Just based on the violations of the order of protection, the conduct — I view that as significantly factoring into the public’s trust of law enforcement,” Klingerman said.

Klingerman’s motion passed unanimously, and Bueno’s law enforcement license was suspended for 36 months. The suspension was the most severe punishment AZPOST doled out at the meeting.

The board also opened an investigation into William Lytle, a former officer with the Page Police Department. Shay told the board that in February, a justice of the peace ordered Lytle to avoid contact with his wife, who’d asked for protection from him. However, over the next two months, Lytle violated the order by calling her at least 16 times and texting her with threatening and demeaning messages seven times.

Lytle was arrested and was indicted by a grand jury on May 16. He was fired less than a week later by the Page Police Department.

Drunk driving

Driving while intoxicated wasn’t enough for Mesa police officer William Falconer — he had to do it with his 2-year-old kid in the back seat.

On Sept. 30, 2023, Falconer was doing doughnuts in his truck in a parking lot at the Tucson Speedway, according to compliance specialist Dave Toporek. When Pima County Sheriff’s deputies stopped Falconer, a deputy noted Falconer had red, watery, bloodshot eyes and smelled like alcohol. A breathalyzer test showed Falconer’s blood alcohol content was 0.107%, well above the legal limit of 0.08%.

Falconer’s wife and brother-in-law were in the truck, as was Falconer's 2-year-old son. The officer was booked on DUI and child abuse charges and was later indicted by a grand jury on Oct. 19. Mesa police fired him on Jan. 17 of this year. In February, according to Toporek, Falconer entered a plea agreement for endangerment (a class 6 undesignated felony) and a DUI (a class 1 misdemeanor).

AZPOST voted unanimously to open an investigation on Falconer.

Falconer wasn’t the only officer whose DUI antics were discussed during the meeting. The board suspended the license of former Tempe officer Sheden Mezenghie for 18 months after he crashed his car and was arrested for an extreme DUI in November of last year. Mezenghie’s blood alcohol content was measured at 0.191, more than twice the legal limit, according to Assistant Attorney General Mark Brachtl.

Brachtl said Mezenghie resigned from the department shortly after the incident.