Cheryl Chase, who represents District Two on the Pinal County Board of Supervisors, recognized Deputy Andrew Goode with a certificate of achievement for devoting many hours of community service to help troubled youth and families in crisis.
We've got a call in to Chase's office for specifics on Goode's community service.
Although a certificate like this one handed out at the San Tan Valley substation of the Pinal County Sheriff's Office may not be the stuff of front-page headlines, Goode's well-deserved recognition is worth noting -- especially considering the players.
See also:
- "Camp Titties and Beer," a Country Thunder Campground Occupied by Tucson Police Officers is Where a DPS Office Was Attacked. Paul Babeu's Office Wanted This Covered Up
- Pinal County Judge Dismisses PCSO Lieutenant's Lawsuit Against New Times Over "Camp Titties and Beer" Coverage
- Babeu's "Elite" Staff Overcomes Bad Behavior with Loyalty
"Deputy Goode is a great example of a Pinal County employee who cares deeply for his community," Supervisor Chase said in a statement. "He has worked time and time again to provide assistance to people who need a hand up on his off time. I am pleased to offer him a small token of my appreciation."
Chase is a political ally of Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu. She was part of the slate of candidates who campaigned with Babeu after he dropped out of his congressional race and made a second bid for sheriff.
Goode is the deputy who was injured on April 9, 2011, at "Camp Titties and Beer," a Country Thunder campsite that belonged to off-duty cops from Tucson.
Goode severely injured his leg in a struggle with a fleeing suspect who allegedly jumped on the back of an Arizona Department of Public Safety police officer and tried to choke him, according to a lawsuit he's since filed against the PCSO.
Goode was working undercover with that officer -- Hugh Grant -- at the music festival searching for underage drinkers. Instead, the two came upon "Camp Titties and Beer," where women were flashing their breasts on an elevated scaffolding, as Goode and Grant describe in court records. They are suing, in part, for how the PCSO handled the case.
See, the incident was scantly investigated that night by Lieutenant Blake King, a PCSO employee so close to the sheriff that Babeu put him in his will. Yet, King worked to have the suspect -- the son of retired Tucson cops -- released from jail that same day by arranging for a judge to be brought in. He later arranged for the PCSO to transport him back to Country Thunder.
Records show that King claimed that Grant made a bad arrest, and even wrote an e-mail to the Pinal County Attorney's Office asking an official there to try to clear the suspect's DPS record. King even sued New Times for publishing those details, but his case was thrown out of court by a Pinal County Superior Court judge.
When Babeu has hosted ceremonies to honor deputies injured in the line of duty with purple hearts, he's managed each time to snub Goode.
And so, who would have thought that it would be Cheryl Chase, a political ally of the sheriff, that would step forward and recognized the selflessness of a deputy who has found himself at odds within the organization he serves?
