MPD lieutenant on paid leave since June 1

A Maricopa police lieutenant earning $85,000 a year has been on paid administrative leave since June 1.

Willie Payne was promoted from sergeant to lieutenant in December 2008. Before joining MPD in 2007, Payne worked for more than 30 years at the Pinal County Sheriff's Office.

Details on Payne’s administrative leave have not been released by the city.

Last month, a Maricopa police officer on paid administrative leave, Miller Dao, resigned before the conclusion of a hearing before the Employee Merit Board to get his job back. While on leave, Dao was required to be physically present at his house during the normal business hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to be available for the internal investigation.

InMaricopa requested copies of any and all possible past disciplinary actions against Payne. The city responded that by state law it cannot release that information until the present action involving Payne is completed. The city did not cite any specific laws in its response.

Editor's note:  In late June, Public Information Officer LaTricia Woods said an investigation into a complaint by Sgt. Mary Turner would be completed within two or three weeks. There is no way to determine how long an officer will be on administrative leave, she said.