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It’s often considered polite to pour a drink upon request for someone going through a tough time. But in the case of former Gila River police officer Frank Reynoso, it might have been too polite.
Now that generous gesture has led the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, or AZPOST, to consider whether to suspend or revoke Reynoso’s law enforcement license.
Reynoso was serving as a field training officer when he responded to a mental health call with his trainee and other officers on March 9. The subject of the call was familiar to Reynoso, who had responded to calls involving that person before, according to AZPOST compliance officer Michele Blanco. The officers handcuffed the man to take him to a mental evaluation. But before they could leave, Reynoso and the man, who was handcuffed behind his back, went back inside the house.
It was there that the man asked for a drink of alcohol. Reynoso obliged, taking a 40-ounce bottle of malt liquor and pouring it down the handcuffed man’s throat.
Reynoso was fired from the department for negligence of duty. On Thursday, AZPOST members voted to initiate proceedings to determine whether to suspend his peace officer certification or even revoke it altogether.
“I gotta say, that’s a first,” board chairman and Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels said after the vote.
Reynoso was one of five officers against whom the board voted to initiate investigative proceedings at its July board meeting in Flagstaff. The 12-member board, which licenses all law enforcement officers in Arizona, includes Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry Director Ryan Thornell and representatives from multiple sheriff’s and police agencies around the state. It is one of the few agencies in the state with the ability to discipline officers. Last year, it punished 42 former and current officers.
The board also considers petitions from police agencies that want to hire someone whose background prohibits them from receiving their peace officer certification in the state.
This month, the board granted certification to Braeden Neilson, whom the Paradise Valley Police Department wanted to hire. When Neilson was 20 years old, he sold his leftover hydrocodone pills to a friend at his gym, Paradise Valley Police Chief Freeman Carney told the board. A couple of years later, while employed as a police officer in Iowa, he realized what he’d done was illegal and reported himself.
Now, about six years after the fact, he’s hoping to work with the Paradise Valley Police Department. Carney said that selling the pills was an “incredible lapse of judgment,” but that his background and the incident have been thoroughly investigated. Carney would like to give him a chance, he said, adding that it’s not because he’s short-staffed and willing to hire anyone no matter their background.
“He seems like an upstanding young man,” he said. “I just believe in him.”
The board also voted to initiate proceedings into four more officers.
- Former Scottsdale officer Justin Rohlfs was caught lying about his previous employment background, compliance officer Tim Shay told the board. Rohlfs was hired by the Scottsdale Police Department in 2023 and worked there until leaving in February for the Montrose Police Department in Colorado. During that process, Montrose discovered that Rohlfs had lied on his application to them and omitted that he’d previously been employed by Colorado’s Buena Vista Police Department. He’d left before he could be fired after he was caught with alcohol on his breath and reporting 16 hours of overtime that he didn’t work. Montrose reported this to Scottsdale, which determined that he’d left it out of his application to work there.
- Former Maricopa County Sheriff’s deputy Omauri Patrick was caught in two lies by supervisors after he reported unexplained overtime during a week that he was supposed to be at a training. The sheriff’s office discovered that not only did he not work overtime, but he didn’t attend the training at all. Instead, he’d lied about being allowed to work from home because he was having car issues.
- Former Gilbert police recruit Austin James was caught lying about using the internet during class time at the academy. When confronted about his computer use, he said he was not on the internet. But timestamps showed him browsing ESPN.com. He was booted from the academy.
- Former Glendale police recruit Xavier Milligan also was caught lying about his tech use. Another recruit reported him for using his personal cell phone at his locker. When questioned by academy staff, Milligan said he hadn’t sent any texts or gone on social media. However, when they looked at his phone, they discovered he’d been texting. He was kicked out of the academy.
