Less than a year ago, a red-haired 17-year-old Hidden Valley resident drove her quad to workout at Anytime Fitness with no concerns for her safety. However, that changed in the spring of this year, said the teen in testimony Monday before the Maricopa merit board ruling on a disciplinary action appeal by former Maricopa Police officer Martice Berry. The teen told the board that she and Berry worked out together on occasion at the gym. She said that Berry often times would make remarks to her such as: “I can’t wait til you turn 18,” and “I want to take you home and cover your body in baby oil.” The teen said she didn’t take the comments seriously and felt Berry would not act on them because of his position as a Maricopa Police officer, but she was wrong. On the verge of tears, the girl described an incident at the gym when Berry embraced her in a hug, lifting her off the ground and kissing her on the mouth. While placing the teen back on the ground, she said Berry slid her body across his, and made a sexual comment. From that moment, the Hidden Valley teen said she no longer felt safe to drive to work because she worried that Berry would act on other things he had said to her. Berry was terminated by the Maricopa Police Department in August for “conduct unbecoming an officer” after he was accused of sending explicit pictures of himself to women, kissing a minor, and using a law-enforcement incident to pursue a personal relationship. However, these were not the only accusations brought forth in the hearing. After the initial investigation into Berry’s actions was completed and his firing made public, Maricopa resident Lori McCabe came forward with four additional allegations. These new charges included Berry attempting to pull the women into his home when she went to confront him, his telling her that he would pull someone over to give a ticket out of dislike for the person, and Berry pulling her over for no other reason than to harass her. “A predator is a predator is a predator,” McCabe said. During cross testimony, Berry’s lawyer Martin Bihn, asked McCabe why she didn’t bring the charges forth against his client sooner if she felt he was a predator. McCabe said it was because she believed Berry had given up on harassing her. Throughout the hearing, Bihn attempted to establish a connection between several of the accusers and question the evidence that the city had gathered in the case. “This is all ‘he said she said,’” Bihn said. “Where are the phone records, video tapes and other hard evidence?” Bihn worked with the city for several months to schedule the hearing for his client, lobbying for a change to the city code that would allow him to subpoena witnesses. However, the city denied giving Bihn this power. “It is ridiculous,” Bihn said. “A man has a right to confront his accusers.” The three-member volunteer merit board will rule on statements of fact from each side and make a recommendation to the city manager based on the hearing’s result. Photo by Michael K. Rich |