Scottsdale cop suspended 1 year for having sex in police cars

The former Scottsdale cop who admitted to having sex in a squad car had his certification suspended by Arizona’s police disciplinary board last Wednesday — but the board stopped short of revoking his credentials for good.

In June, the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board opened an investigation into ex-Scottsdale Sgt. Derok Roach, who on multiple occasions had sex in both undercover and marked police vehicles 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.

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, driving under the influence and needlessly handcuffing an 82-year-old lady.

So far this year, the board has punished 26 current and former law enforcement officers from across Arizona for misdeeds, including but not limited to: driving an ATV through a playground with kids around while extremely drunk, keeping crime scene evidence, using unnecessary force, submitting false timesheets, attempted sexual assault and using a police database for personal reasons.

Roach was fired by the department on Feb. 28, and his suspension from the board runs from March 1 to the same day in 2026.

That’s a light punishment compared to the penalty levied against another horny Arizona cop: former Yuma Police Department Officer Andres Angulo. In June, the board suspended Angulo’s peace officer certification for three years after he kissed at least three department employees, had sex with two of them and grabbed one’s breasts and buttocks while on the job.

AZPOST executive director Charles Miiller, who recently took over the job after Matt Giordano was hired as chief of Phoenix police, did not respond to New Times’ request for an explanation on the reasoning behind the length of Roach’s suspension.

Roach wasn’t at the meeting, but his attorney Chad Smith said the former cop “recognizes the errors in his action” and he “takes full responsibility for them.”

Other suspensions

At the August meeting, the board issued four other suspensions, including one to former Goodyear Police Department officer David Mejia.

In February, Mejia’s daughter was arrested for shoplifting in Columbus, Ohio, and gave police a false name and date of birth, according to Assistant Attorney General Joe Dylo. She also texted her dad, asking her to go along with the lie when contacted. He did — and it came back to bite him. Goodyear police caught wind and investigated him until he admitted his indiscretion. Mejia resigned on April 1.

Mark Dannels, the sheriff of Cochise County and chair of the board, at first indicated that he wanted to revoke the certification.

“We know as cops you can’t lie,” Dannels said. “I think this is softer than it should be.”

AZPOST staff recommended an 18-month suspension because Mejia was honest with his own police department and disclosed the lie to Goodyear police before he was confronted by superiors. The board approved the year-and-a-half suspension, with only Dannels voting no.

Christopher Hayes of the Gilbert Police Department also had his certification suspended for a year. While Hayes was arresting a man for a DUI, he gave an “aggressive impact push to the driver’s back and caused him to fall forward into the backseat area of the patrol vehicle with no ability to brace or protect himself from the fall,” Dylo said. Gilbert police’s investigation found that Hayes’ use of force violated its policy and fired him on Nov. 18, 2024. His certification is suspended until the same day this year.

Former Maricopa Police Department officer Craig Curry, who was fired in February 2022, also received a retroactive suspension through 2024. Dylo told the board that Curry improperly accessed police records while he was being investigated for misconduct — despite the fact that he was explicitly told not to.

Curry was also suspended in 2021 for 20 hours after leaving his K-9 unit dog in a car during a hot June day while he attended a meeting at police headquarters. The dog, named Ike, died of heatstroke.

New Investigations

So far this year, the board has opened investigations into 24 officers. While some of them have been punished, many of the investigations remain ongoing. For instance, Phoenix police officer Timothy Clark is still being investigated for going 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.

At its August meeting, the board also opened new investigations into six current or former cops. The most noteworthy were:

• Former Casa Grande police officer Galen Flynn, who in March was arrested in Chandler for a DUI after he blew .287 BAC on a breathalyzer test. Flynn also allegedly tried to cite his status as a cop to get out of it, said he drank only one shot, changed his story to two shots and then pissed on the floor of the interrogation room. He was fired and charges are still pending.
  
  
• Phoenix police officer Celina Gonzales-Heltzel, whose boyfriend accused her of scratching his neck, damaging his Hot Wheels collection and throwing a bottle of soap at him. He later took the statement back and said she did not assault him, though police saw scratches on his neck. Phoenix police’s Professional Standards Bureau suspended Gonzalez-Heltzel for 24 hours. While Peoria police charged her with assault and disorderly conduct, the charges were later dismissed.
  
  
• Phoenix police officer Christopher Hendershott, whose long-standing dispute with his neighbors got out of hand in April 2022. After the neighbors called Pinal County Sheriff’s deputies on the Hendershotts while they were having a party, Hendershott allegedly texted a superior of the deputies telling her to call him “or I’m gonna beat his ass.” He also admitted to taunting the deputies and told them he made more money than they do and later posted on Facebook, “Fuck Pinal cops. As a cop, hope everything bad happens to them.” He was suspended for a week by Phoenix police.
  
  
• Former Goodyear police officer Justin Gaspar, who arrested a man for locking his kids in a running car in June 2024 while fighting outside with his wife. Gaspar put the man in the vehicle and turned the air conditioning off in the back seat. Eventually, the man said he felt sick and later became unresponsive, requiring a trip to the hospital. Gaspar was fired and pleaded guilty to a charge of endangerment, for which he received six months’ probation.