Wednesday, the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board opened an investigation into ex-Scottsdale Sgt. Derok Roach, who allegedly had sex on multiple occasions in his undercover car while on duty. The board, known as AZPOST, licenses all law enforcement officers in the state and is one of the few agencies in Arizona with the power to discipline police. The 12-member board includes Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, two rural sheriffs, two police chiefs, Phoenix City Councilmember Kevin Robinson and Ryan Thornell, director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry.
According to AZPOST compliance specialist Tim Shay, Roach began having sexy time in his police vehicle in July 2022. Shay said a woman told Scottsdale police that she and Roach steamed up the inside of squad cars five or six times over the course of two years. By June 2024, Roach was even getting it on in marked patrol vehicles.
No word on whether handcuffs got involved.
Scottsdale police fired Roach in February, Shay told the board. “While Roach said he did not remember the dates and details, he did not deny the sexual activity,” Shay added. Now his law enforcement license, which would allow him to get another police job, is at risk. The board has issued stiff punishments for officers who have committed similarly salacious misdeeds.
One of those punishments was handed down on Wednesday. The board issued a three-year suspension of Yuma Police Department Officer Andres Angulo’s certification. In February, the board opened an investigation into Angulo for kissing at least three department employees, having sex with two of them and grabbing one’s breasts and butt while on the job.
So far this year, the board has punished 21 current and former law enforcement officers from across Arizona for various indiscretions, including but not limited to: driving an ATV through a playground with kids around while extremely drunk, submitting false timesheets, attempted sexual assault and using a police database for personal reasons.
The board has opened investigations into 18 officers, some of whom have yet to be punished by the board. For instance, the board is still investigating Phoenix police officer Timothy Clark, who went on a drunken rampage near Chase Field after a Diamondbacks game during which he allegedly tried to fight a bar staffer, bit a security guard, punched a framed picture and yelled at and flipped off customers and employees at several establishments.
In 2024, AZPOST opened 48 investigations into officers and punished 43 cops, including for putting the muzzle of a gun to a woman’s head, asking two high school girls when they lost their virginity, driving while under the influence, lying to superiors or investigators and needlessly handcuffing an 82-year-old lady.
Matt Giordano is a former Phoenix police officer and the current executive director for the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training board.
Kevin Hurley
Police chief candidate absent
The board’s executive director, Matt Giordano, was absent from the meeting. He is one of three candidates being considered to lead Phoenix’s embattled police department. At the meeting, AZPOST board members said they’d miss Giordano and pumped his candidacy for police chief.“We wish him great success in that. But certainly if he’s picked, we’ll miss him,” Bill Mundell, a board member and Arizona’s chief deputy attorney general, said at the meeting.
Sean Donegan, the agency’s deputy director and Giordano’s second-in-command, echoed the sentiment.
“We’re really excited for Matt, for his family, for the potential opportunity that awaits,” Donegan said. “We’re especially excited about the opportunity for him to lead the men and women of that organization and to interact with the citizens of Phoenix. We believe he is the right person for that position and are eager to see how that plays out.”
Phoenix spokesperson Ashley Patton told Phoenix New Times that the city manager plans to announce a decision about its next chief in July.
