MPD lieutenant on leave since July 22

Lt. Larry Eckhardt of the Maricopa Police Department has been on paid administrative leave since July 22.

The city would not say why Eckhardt is on leave, citing a section of Arizona’s open records law that makes an exception for releasing information on open investigations by an employer on a police or probation officer.

In a public records request (PRR) made yesterday to the city, InMaricopa requested a photograph of Eckhardt along with copies of any and all past internal investigations that involved Eckhardt and copies of any and all grievances that may have been filed against Eckhardt by his coworkers.

The city generally processes PRRs within three days. However, if a request requires making copies of hundreds of pages of documents or requires the IT department and other staff to search through emails to make certain no confidential information is released, then requests can take longer. If more than three days is required, than the requestor is notified.

Eckhardt earns $87,150 and was among the first officers hired to man the city's police force.