Tucson Weekly: TPD's Scapegoat (September 10

Danny Sharp Did His Best For TPD And The City Of Tucson. Naturally, He Got Screwed.
By Vicki Hart
FIVE MONTHS AGO it was common knowledge that Danny Sharp would become the next chief of the Tucson Police Department.
But in April, TPD Capt. Kevin Danaher plowed his BMW into a telephone pole. Cops who investigated the accident failed to determine if Danaher had been drinking, which he had. Police Chief Douglas Smith subsequently demoted Danaher and disciplined others involved in the incident, including Sharp, who was also demoted.
The question that remains in light of Smith's actions, however, is why Sharp--who appeared to do everything right the night of Danaher's accident--became the scapegoat.
Currents Sharp, a 20-year veteran of the force who started in the westside patrol division and moved up through the ranks, ran the department's day-to-day operations. Smith appointed Sharp assistant chief in October 1994.
Sharp has received TPD's Medal of Merit three times. He's also received a Medal of Service, and was Elks' Club Officer of the Year in 1980. TPD's liaison with the Pima County Victim Witness program from 1979 to 1987, Sharp graduated with distinction and a 4.0 grade-point average from Northern Arizona University, earning a master's degree in educational leadership in August 1997. He graduated with a 4.0 grade-point average from the FBI Academy in September 1997.
Sharp is well regarded by officers on the street. He's coached Little League, and his wife, Lynn, is a TPD sergeant.
ON THE NOW-infamous night of April 8, 1998, Sharp was awakened at 1:47 a.m. and told that Danaher had been in an accident and was being taken to UMC. According to a May 18 complaint Sharp filed with City Manager Luis Gutierrez, on the way to the hospital Sharp called TPD attorney Beverly Ginn to advise her of the accident. She asked him to assess the situation and call back.
Lt. Charles Armijo met Sharp at the hospital and informed him there were no witnesses to the single-car accident, and that Danaher claimed he'd swerved to avoid another vehicle.
According to Sharp's complaint, Armijo stated--as did two other officers, Sgt. James Webb and Sgt. Rick Hovden--that they'd spoken to Danaher and that alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the accident.
Sharp says he informed TPD personnel at the hospital that this investigation would be like any other. Sharp then visited briefly with Danaher. He claims he detected no odor of alcohol or obvious signs of intoxication.
Sharp also says he asked about anyone at the scene indicating if there were signs of alcohol. He says Webb reported that no one had.
Sharp, with Armijo present, then questioned Danaher's physician, who stated, "Alcohol is not significant in this case. I have no reason to do an alcohol blood test. I realize you have different standards." When pressed, the doctor added, "There is some smell."
Sharp says he then called Smith and reported what he'd learned. Sharp says Smith said, "Okay, see if you can get some blood and we'll go from there."
Sharp again called Ginn. She advised him to check with the DUI unit to see if there was probable cause to get blood. Sharp says he found there were no DUI unit members on duty, but he called DUI head Sgt. Chris Andreacola. Sharp says he gave Andreacola all of the information he had (leaving out that the suspect was a police officer), and Andreacola advised him he did not have probable cause to request blood.
Sharp says he reviewed the whole situation and the information he had, and concluded that he had no probable cause to request a sample of Danaher's blood, that, in fact, the law would not allow it under those circumstances because issuing a request could be seen as an attempt to coerce Danaher. Taking a sample in that situation, Sharp reasoned, would compromise any possible criminal investigation.
THE NEXT DAY, Sharp briefed the other assistant chiefs and Ginn about the situation. Assistant Chief Richard Miranda volunteered that he and Captain Jesse Ochoa had been with Danaher at Carlos Murphy's before the accident. Miranda--who is now being touted as the most likely candidate for the chief's job in light of Smith's recent resignation--stated that he'd bought Danaher his first drink of the evening.
That same day Sharp received a call from Armijo informing him that an Officer Norris had been at UMC on another case and said he'd talked to paramedics who said that Danaher had been "shitfaced." Sharp immediately asked that Norris be interviewed and reported this to Internal Affairs.
Initially, it seemed as if Smith was supporting his officers. An Arizona Daily Star article cites Smith as stating at different times: "Officers can get the blood only through consent or through a search warrant." And: "Smith said legal staff advised Sharp that having a senior officer ask Danaher for a blood sample would have been construed as coercion."
Sharp contends he had nothing to do with some TPD-issued press releases which failed to provide full information on the accident. The releases denied there were witnesses at the accident scene.
Once the news reporters sensed there was more to the story than TPD was saying, they went into high gear. There were calls from the public for someone to be punished; some lower-ranking officers insisted the disciplinary action had better start at the top. The always-publicity-conscious Smith folded immediately.
Bowing to the pressure on April 20, he convened a Special Board of Inquiry, demanding that it investigate the incident and subsequent police actions and report its findings by the next day, April 21. The Board was composed of seven members, including Miranda--the same officer who'd admitted to being with Danaher and observing him drink the night of the accident. Other members of the Board included Sgt. Eugene Mejia, who was responsible for issuing the misleading press releases; Lt. Rich Harper, who had only just taken over the internal affairs investigation regarding Danaher the morning of April 18; and Sgt. Mike Pryor, who had also been involved in the Danaher investigation.
The Board of Inquiry never questioned Danny Sharp. Nor was he given an opportunity to respond to allegations or accusations.
The Board submitted a report that basically blamed Sharp for not communicating, not following protocol, not identifying and obtaining police resources, not assessing information properly, not directing officers to ask Danaher if he was drinking, not following legal advice, not following completely the directions of the Chief, and not correcting information released to the public.
On Wednesday, April 22, Smith asked Sharp to meet him at the Starr Pass Coffee Shop. According to Sharp's complaint, Smith let Sharp know he was being demoted to captain. Smith "then stated that many people did things wrong, and the bottom line is that you got fucked."
Throughout the conversation, according to Sharp, Smith repeatedly stated, "You got fucked." Sharp said Smith warned him that Sharp "was going to be angry when I saw how many times that things weren't done or I was misled."
Sharp's complaint goes on to say that Smith assured him there would be no press conference, and that he was still Sharp's friend and that Sharp was still part of his inner circle.
Later that day, however, Sharp learned that Smith had held a press conference, released the Special Board of Inquiry report and met with the Star and Tucson Citizen editorial boards.
TPD announced that Sharp had been demoted for failing to follow an order, withholding information from subordinates and misleading the public. Tucson Mayor George Miller jumped on the bandwagon, stating that Sharp's career was "hurt and hurt badly. It's all but over. That's where he's going to end up as a police person, as captain."
Thus Sharp--who, during the Danaher incident, called the Chief, called the legal advisor, called the head of the DUI unit, called in Internal Affairs the next day when he received more information, and who tried to make a decision based on their advice and the constraints imposed on him by law--is clearly TPD's prime scapegoat.
SHARP WAS originally put in charge of the Westside Patrol Division after his demotion. He has now been transferred to a "job" created especially for him at the TPD equivalent of Siberia, the city communications center at Park and Ajo. Chief Doug Smith has not spoken to Danny Sharp since their April 22 meeting.
Sharp's complaint to the City Manger was quickly dismissed, as were Armijo and Webb's complaints. There are rumors that lawsuits are in the wings. Some say this was the reason Smith has turned in his resignation. And many in the department say Smith lost the support of TPD's rank and file after he needlessly hung out to dry the man who did the most to hold TPD together and make Smith look good during his troubled and ineffective tenure there.
City Councilman Jerry Anderson, who has been expressing grave concerns about TPD's direction, says he'd like to see the chief's position opened up to all applicants, including Sharp.
"The Danaher thing was really unfortunate for Danny Sharp," says Anderson. "He ran the Tucson Police Department, and he had the best experience and expertise of anyone over there. He was the most qualified to take over as chief."

Home | Currents | City Week | Music | Review | Books | Cinema | Back Page | Archives