SAIGH LAW, P.L.L.C.

Arizona Police Department Civil Rights Lawsuit

In September, 2007, former Phoenix police Officer Mark Wilcox and his wife sued the Phoenix Police Department and Sergeant Kathy Johnson for Defamation and Violation of Civil Rights in the handling of an October 2004 incident involving a juvenile suspect.

At that time Officer Wilcox had chased down a juvenile suspect on the streets of Phoenix and claimed that the suspect kicked him and escaped, only to be nabbed by another cop. Wilcox charged the juvenile with aggravated assault for the alleged kick. At trial, however, neither Wilcox nor the other officer showed, and the case was dismissed.

During an internal affairs investigation conducted by the Phoenix PD, a third officer reported that Wilcox demonstrated how he had taken the juvenile’s shoe and made an imprint on his own uniform to bolster the aggravated assault charge. The investigation preliminarily concluded that Officer Wilcox had violated several departmental rules and regulations, including engaging “in unprofessional conduct by committing acts that constitute the elements of felony offenses.”

Wilcox was fired November 28, 2006. The officer appealed and PLEA President Mark Spencer served as Wilcox’s union representative.

In March 2007, the city’s Civil Service Board reduced his punishment to a 120-hour suspension, finding only that the department had proven (by a preponderance of the evidence) only that Wilcox had no good excuse for having missed the juvenile’s court hearing.

In a 17 Page Ruling, A U.S. District Court Judge, Mary Murguia, has tossed out the case and dismissed each of the Wilcox’s claims as legally insufficient.

Wilcox returned to the job after his reinstatement, but resigned in the summer of 2007 and moved to Missouri.

Read More:
The New Times Feathered Bird Take on this Lawsuit