PHOENIX (AP) - A veteran Phoenix police officer accused of threatening to shoot the city’s mayor last year violated department policy and has retired, department officials said Monday night.
They said Officer Steven Poulos now is no longer employed by the department and his retirement eliminates options for possible disciplinary action.
Mayor Kate Gallego was given additional law enforcement protection after the alleged threat became public last October and the Tempe Police Department was asked to investigate.
A subsequent police report said Poulos reportedly made the threat while on-duty and in uniform during a meeting with six other Phoenix police officers.
Gallego has pushed for police reforms and Poulos, a 22-year veteran, reportedly was upset about a possible defunding of the police force.
According to the report, Poulos backtracked after the meeting and said his comment about harming Gallego was made in jest.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced Jan. 5 that it wouldn’t file criminal charges against Poulos because it couldn’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer’s statements constituted a “true threat” as defined by Arizona law.
Phoenix police Chief Jeri Williams said “the statements made by Mr. Poulos during a squad meeting do not reflect the high standards expected of members” of her department.
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