PCSO: No administrative investigation planned in Ramsey’s incident

Pinal County Sheriff’s Office plans no administrative investigation into its deputy’s response to a fight last Friday at Ramsey’s American Grill involving Maricopa firefighters and an assault victim who was tased by the deputy.

“The actions were appropriate and within the scope of policy,” PCSO Public Information Office Mike Minter said Thursday by email in response to requests for information by inmaricopa.com.

According to owner Ramsey Harkness and other witnesses, Firefighter Chris Hertzog punched another patron, Darren Cox, while Cox was arguing with Firefighter Cody Ashton. A number of other unidentified firefighters also reportedly were involved.

Cox, who did not press charges, reported on Saturday that he really didn’t know what had occurred the night before. “Me and this one guy were bickering at each other and someone cold-cocked me,” Cox said. “When I got up to defend myself, the cop tased me.”

The officer involved was Pinal County Sheriff Deputy Daniel Lopez, who was at Ramsey’s on regular patrol when the fight took place. Lopez used his taser to subdue Cox but did not use force with Ashton or the other firefighters. Herzog reportedly fled the scene immediately after hitting Cox.

PCSO Sgt. Wayne Cashman, the shift supervisor, said last weekend that they had no suspects. “All the participants had fled the area,” Cashman said. “All we had left was the victim.”

None of the Sheriff’s officials explained why the officer on the scene couldn’t discover the identity of the man who threw the punch while Harkness and multiple other witnesses could.

According to the information Minter had following the assault, Cox was being held from engaging in additional fighting by three other patrons. “When Deputy Lopez took charge and attempted to stop Mr. Cox from re-entering the fray, he ignored all verbal commands,” Minter said Thursday. “At that point a Taser X-26 was deployed by the deputy, and Mr. Cox immediately became compliant.”

Minter said the PCSO’s policy is that the taser falls into the Use of Force Continuum immediately after verbal commands. “The taser is a tool for the deputy to use that minimizes the risk of potential injury to the public and deputies if it is necessary to use physical force to restore peace and order.”

Minter said no arrests were made on the scene by the PCSO. “As the altercation ended, all combatants vacated the establishment,” Minter said. “Mr. Cox remained and told investigators that he did not wish to pursue criminal charges on anyone. The Sheriff’s Office continued to investigate even though Mr. Cox refused to participate as a victim in this case. A charging review will be submitted to the Pinal County Attorney’s Office for appropriate charging.”

Asked if a firefighter or other public safety official would be arrested or subdued by an officer from the PCSO if necessary in an incident like this, Minter said, “The occupation of any offender has or will have no bearing on whether or not criminal charges are filed in this or any other case.”

Scott Bartle contributed to this story; Photo by Dave Thomas