In a newly acquired camera camera, an Arizona sheriff was caught up in a racial uproar and pleaded to be released after an officer pulled him over in December on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol driving.
Julian Navarrette, deputy sheriff of Pinal County, was arrested after a Arizona State University police officer spotted him chasing and swinging at about 2 a.m. on Dec. 5 in Tempe, according to an ASU police report. Navarrette was with friends during the arrest, the report said.
When the ASU officer confronted the deputy mayor about driving under the influence, the video obtained by NBC affiliate KPNX showed Navarrette admitting he was and saying, “Yes, but I’m also a police officer. “
“How much did you drink tonight?” asked the officer.
“Just a few drinks,” Navarrette said.
According to the footage, Navarrette flashed his license plate for the officer. The officer then asked Navarrette to get out of his car after confirming he was working for the Pinal County sheriff.
“I did this whole thing. What are we going through? Navarrette said in response. “Can we let someone else in the vehicle go through this?”
The ASU official said it did not matter if he was a deputy.
“Then it could endanger my job, right?” Navarrette said.
“Don’t you think it would endanger mine if I did not?” replied the officer.
‘Dude, I understand, but can I, maybe someone else, sit behind the wheel? Behind the wheel? Said Navarrette. “Do not endanger my f —— career.”
He again pleaded for his release.
“This is not a man from New York,” the ASU official said.
‘New York? N —-, I’m from Arizona guy. I’m not from New York, ‘Navarrette said.
After the ASU officer took a sobriety test, Navarrette took a breath test and blew 0.121, according to the police report. The legal limit in Arizona is 0.08. Navarette was arrested on a charge from DUI and arrested at the ASU police station, the report said.
According to the footage, Navarrette asked the officer why he did not give him a pass.
“You could not give me the opportunity to park the car,” he said. “Nobody reported it.”
“The fact that you are telling me tells me not to be an officer,” the officer said.
A Pinal County Sheriff’s spokesman told KPNX that Navarrette was initially placed on amended duty. During that time, he was banned from driving a patrol car and rode with another deputy while on regular duty.
As of Monday, however, the spokesman said Navarrette had returned to normal service.
The spokesman declined to comment further, but said that “Deputy Navarrette is currently the subject of an internal investigation related to this incident, and as such we cannot discuss the matter.”
“Our officers handled themselves in a professional manner, just like with any subject they encounter,” ASU police said.
Navarrette told the news station that he did not want to make a statement at the moment.
Attempts to reach Navarrette by telephone on Tuesday were unsuccessful.
