THE TALLEST TALE
In short, we can't: Thank you for an excellent and timely story ("Pinalcchio," September 23; also see "The Big Spin," October 7, both by Paul Rubin).
If this is an example of the way Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu handles investigations of fellow officers, how can we expect a sober and serious investigation of Deputy Chief Frank Munnell's complaints against top Maricopa County Sheriff's Office officials ("Indictment Time," The Bird, September 23)?
Emil Pulsifer, Phoenix
PCSO is either naive or dirty: "Why would this fool be chasing people in the desert all by himself?" a [PCSO] dispatcher thought. Why would any supervisor condone such action by a deputy?
Now, deputies are no longer allowed on solo patrol. "Babeu doesn't allow range deputies on solo patrols anymore," [the "Pinalcchio" story says]. Had that policy been in place at the time of the alleged shooting, there would have been at least one other witness to this incident.
Or, more likely, the incident would never have happened unless there was a dual conspiracy to make it happen.
"He's out there stubborn as ever, doing his thing," the PCSO's Sergeant Messing says of the deputy. "That's just Louie."
This statement, made by a sergeant, says tons to me. It means that the tail (Puroll) wags the dog (the PCSO). It also tells me why Puroll called this particular sergeant on his day off, instead of any on-duty supervisor. Any competent on-duty patrol supervisor would have told Puroll to stop and wait for cover before proceeding, or to pull off the case altogether.
In law enforcement, there is ingrained in every officer one very clear intent: At the end of the shift, go home safely. Puroll seems to have started that day with a very clear plan to end the day with a helicopter trip to the hospital — and an aura of being a hero to his sheriff.
The "investigation" I've seen so far would be considered incomplete and a huge joke by any professional law enforcement agency. Further, anytime it appears that the credibility of the agency [is] in question, the agency normally hands off the investigation to another agency and cooperates fully. Neither happened in this case.
Also, a normal internal investigation is controlled by the investigating agency. Attorneys are not allowed to participate — much less dictate which questions [can] be asked and how the interview will be controlled [as Puroll's attorney did in this situation].
The PCSO strikes me as either very naive or very dirty in this case.
Just my opinion, based on 20 years as a professional law enforcement officer, 2.5 of it as an internal affairs investigator (sergeant).
Tommy Collins, Phoenix
So predictable: Imagine that, another racist redneck lying about them Mexicans.
Jim Cozzolino, Peoria
A story like Swiss cheese: The story Deputy Louie Puroll tells stinks from A to Z. Like a good wedge of Swiss cheese, it has so many holes in it that two forensic experts can't count all of them. Pewwwwwww!
Paul Cechovic, city unavailable
Icing on the hoax cake: What's more incredible about this hoax is the fact that a U.S. senator, a wanna-be governor, and most non-law enforcement people went for it. Then, to put icing on the hoax cake, Fox News took the bait.
Now, Paul Babaloney is the new expert on drug cartels on national TV, and he's supported by a former presidential candidate [John McCain] who's surprisingly clueless about law enforcement issues.
A senator of his stature should get facts from the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration. Instead, he depends on a sheriff who's a joke. I'm surprised that this senator doesn't depend on joke number one [Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio].
The security guard/wanna-be [Babeu] was on Greta Van Susteren's Fox show lying that thousands of Mexicans are still invading his county . . . that cartels control most of America.
He can prove it because one of his lying deputies was attacked by a group of cartel members and a bullet damaged his deputy's back.
Finally, Greta asked this expert what he knew of the investigation of this self-inflicted wound. He was kind of caught off guard and . . . blamed the media for not buying the hoax.
Pinal voters, you have a real problem with this clown. If Arizonans think there's a problem with the corrupt MCSO regime, wait just a little bit longer and you will see that not even Batman can control [Babeu].
K.J. DaVinci, city unavailable
Typical cover-up in Pinal: This is typical PCSO behavior. Malicious, dishonest, thieving — whatever it takes. Cover-up is the name of the game in Pinal.
Christopher Flynn, address unavailable
This is sarcasm, right?: What a pathetic smear campaign!
Tell me, does it give New Times comfort to know its open-borders propaganda appeals to the lowest-hanging fruit?
The vast majority of Americans are too smart to be fooled, and since we vote, the will of the people through representative government will leave you irrelevant — and hopefully unemployed.
Name withheld
Signed, Louie's wife: I have known Louie Puroll for 23 years. And to see this good man maligned by this rag is very disheartening. Louie is the most honest and good person I have ever met. He goes out of his way to be kind and courteous to everyone.
New Times should be ashamed to vilify a person [it has] never met. To stand back and make baseless accusations is ludicrous and malicious.
These law enforcement people risk their lives every day so that we may live in a lawful society. It is loathsome that New Times attempts to maintain its circulation by damning an innocent and decent man. Shame on you!
Name withheld
Signed, Louie's mom: I know Louie personally, and he is American as they come. He would sooner take his own life than create any farce. I, as well as everyone who has ever met Louie, know about his loyalty and duty to country. He is not a liar — he is an American hero.
Name withheld
Fish story of the year: I want to know more about the backpack. Seriously, where was it? If Deputy Puroll was holding a GPS in one hand and a BlackBerry in the other when he was [allegedly] assaulted, he couldn't have been holding the backpack, too.
He wasn't wearing it — there was no blood or damage from the bullet. So if he had just been chasing these smugglers and had his phone out in one hand (since he had been placing calls) and the GPS unit in the other hand (he was giving PCSO dispatch and an off-duty supervisor his coordinates the entire time), when did he have the opportunity to take off his backpack at the [shooting] scene? This story just doesn't add up. The fact that it took place less than a week after Governor Jan Brewer signed 1070 is fishy.
Name withheld
Lies, lies, lies!: Unbelievable! But first, this is yet another great investigative article by Paul Rubin!
Wow, that Deputy Puroll has lied is without question. That there are those within the Pinal County Sheriff's Office who are complicit in this deputy's lies is without question.
And this is the sheriff that Sheriff Joe Arpaio has "appointed" for the investigation into the massive corruption now coming to light in the MCSO ("Indictment Time," September 23). Wow!
Interesting side note: Babeu sent [the bloody T-Shirt in] his lying-deputy case to the Arizona Department of Public Safety for an independent inquiry, yet Arpaio won't [send the DPS] for the MCSO corruption scandal now unfolding.
Name withheld
