After a night out at a local bar and restaurant, our client was leaving with his friends at closing time when he realized that his phone was missing. He attempted to go back into the bar to get his phone, but the bouncers would not let him in. An argument ensued between our client and the bouncers, during which our client attempted to push through the bouncers, but he was ultimately pushed out of the bar. Our client kept trying to get into the bar to find his phone, so the bouncers called the police. When the police arrived, it took multiple officers to subdue him and take him to the ground, where police struggled to place handcuffs on him as he allegedly pulled away from the officers.
After our client was cuffed, the officers dragged him over to the patrol car and attempted to lift him into the back seat. Our client allegedly kicked one police officer in the chest and another police officer in the head—that officer had a red swollen lump on his forehead from the impact. The entire incident was caught on the officers’ body cameras. Our client was charged with two class 5 felony Assault on a police officer charges and a class 6 felony Resisting Arrest charge.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office initially (and repeatedly) stated that they would not allow our client to participate in a diversion program, which would allow for the dismissal of the charges. The prosecutor wanted our client to have a felony conviction on his record. However, we went to bat for our client and did not back down until we achieved his goal of a dismissal of all charges through a felony diversion program. Our client successfully completed the program and all charges against him were dismissed with prejudice—meaning they cannot be recharged in the future. Our client was able to keep his record clear of any criminal convictions.