MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE Internal Affairs Division IA # 08-0080 Telephone Interview with Captain Whitney, S0611 June

16, 2011 LICKING: Todays date is June the 16th, 2011. This is Sergeant Brad Licking, uh, with the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office, uh, Internal Affairs. Uh, this is, uh, case number IA 08-0080 and Im gonna be attempting to contact Captain Steve Whitney, uh, serial number 0611, uh, at his work phone. Ill be plugging into my recorder right now. (Phone dialing) (Phone ringing) WHITNEY: LICKING: WHITNEY: LICKING: WHITNEY: LICKING: Captain Whitney. Hey Captain, this is Brad Licking. How you doin, sir? Hi, Brad. Whats goin on? (Chuckle). Hey, uh, you know since we last spoke, um, about this SUV case Yeah. the IA case Ive got, um, I just wanted to we had one more issue that kinda got raised and I just need to make sure, um, Im aware of what everybody knew about it, if anything. Okay. And, basically, it just goes back to a it was a budget request that, uh, Lieutenant Reviewer: Capt. K.Holmes Page 1 of 9

WHITNEY: LICKING:

Investigator: Sgt. B. Licking, #S1122/Sgt. W. Mortensen, A7404 #982 Typed by: A9998 Date/Time: June 17, 2011/0800 hours

MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE Internal Affairs Division IA # 08-0080 Fred McCann had written, uh, way back, um, it was, uh, for the 06, 07, uh, budget. And in that budget request, which we found out later when I go over to Finance and talk with Dan Campion, I guess, it actually got funded for, uh, the creation of an abuse squad. WHITNEY: LICKING: WHITNEY: LICKING: A what squad? Uh, an abuse squad. Okay. Uh, it was supposed to have been for domestic violence, um, child abuse, um, those types of things. Um, and kinda the way they made it sound, I guess, in the budget proposal was that, um, that unit had it been created would have kind of augmented the SVU, uh, with the child sex crimes investigations and what not. Um, I guess, my question to you did, were you ever made aware that that proposal had gone through and, uh, the Sheriffs Office through OMB had actually been funded for that? I was aware of it. Uh, it happened before I got here. Okay. Um, but yeah, I raised that issue a number of times. Okay. Because, in fact, sitting right here on my desk is a copy of the Board of Supervisors minute entry about the, the vehicles that we were supposed to have Reviewer: Capt. K.Holmes Page 2 of 9

WHITNEY: LICKING: WHITNEY: LICKING: WHITNEY:

Investigator: Sgt. B. Licking, #S1122/Sgt. W. Mortensen, A7404 #982 Typed by: A9998 Date/Time: June 17, 2011/0800 hours

MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE Internal Affairs Division IA # 08-0080 obtained. LICKING: WHITNEY: Okay. And we never, we got the vehicles. Uh, the vehicles were sittin on top of the garage and I was told to leave them alone. Okay. Uh, but they didnt have the manpower. This came from above me. Didnt have the manpower to you know initiate this unit. Okay. And that it would, it would be later on at some point that they would, um, you know staff this child abuse squad. But as much as I brought it up and as much as I mentioned it, no one ever did anything about it. Okay, gotcha. Um, do you recall off hand who it was that you had brought that up to? Oh, my boss, Bill Knight. Okay, gotcha. And, um, obviously, he was a Chief at the time? Right. Um, do you know if anyone if, if it was ever, if you ever brought it to anybody elses attention or if Chief Knight had ever raised the issue after that? Reviewer: Capt. K.Holmes Page 3 of 9

LICKING: WHITNEY:

LICKING: WHITNEY:

LICKING:

WHITNEY: LICKING: WHITNEY: LICKING:

Investigator: Sgt. B. Licking, #S1122/Sgt. W. Mortensen, A7404 #982 Typed by: A9998 Date/Time: June 17, 2011/0800 hours

MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE Internal Affairs Division IA # 08-0080

WHITNEY:

Well, I brought it. Well, you know what, Scott Freeman might have been in the room when we talked about it. Okay. Um, do you know about when that would have been? I know it was probably some time ago, but do you know kinda roughly year and kind of a month maybe when that may have been raised? Well, not off hand but I just brought it up last week to my boss, cause I, I, Ive been tryin to get this thing I mean when we had the change, uh, change, uh, in command at Chief, Chief at the Chief level here recently. Uh huh. We, I made sure that my incoming boss knew about this. Okay. But my old bosses knew about it. I mean and Im not tryin to throw them under the bus. I mean they, Sure. they just their hands were tied, too on some level I imagine but. Right. And what happened was and we got equipment. We got I think we got radios and laptop computers, vehicles and I just didnt have any manpower to put in that in a Reviewer: Capt. K.Holmes Page 4 of 9

LICKING:

WHITNEY:

LICKING: WHITNEY: LICKING: WHITNEY:

LICKING: WHITNEY: LICKING: WHITNEY:

Investigator: Sgt. B. Licking, #S1122/Sgt. W. Mortensen, A7404 #982 Typed by: A9998 Date/Time: June 17, 2011/0800 hours

MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE Internal Affairs Division IA # 08-0080 unit like that. LICKING: WHITNEY: LICKING: Okay. So they, they just didnt have a unit or the manpower to start a unit like that. Okay, so you guys got all the, um, well, like you said the vehicles, the equipment. You just didnt have bodies for it, is that right? Right. Okay, thats. Yeah, and I think it was, it wasnt for a sex crimes unit. It was for a child abuse unit. Right. And thats thats how it looked on the, uh, budget request. They, they just labeled it as the abuse unit. Yeah, it wasnt a sex crimes unit. Right. Okay. Cause actually child abuse cases are done at the Districts. Right. And I think that the plan was I, I wasnt here for the planning of that and I wasnt here when it was funded. Uh, I was told that it was gonna be child abuse cases but Reviewer: Capt. K.Holmes Page 5 of 9

WHITNEY: LICKING: WHITNEY:

LICKING:

WHITNEY: LICKING: WHITNEY: LICKING: WHITNEY:

Investigator: Sgt. B. Licking, #S1122/Sgt. W. Mortensen, A7404 #982 Typed by: A9998 Date/Time: June 17, 2011/0800 hours

MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE Internal Affairs Division IA # 08-0080 that child abuse cases were at the Districts but they were going to in effect bring that the manpower down to GID and make them part of SVU but they were never a part of SVU. LICKING: Right. And the way it got proposed, um, it said child abuse, domestic violence and child sex crimes. Okay. Um, and that was supposed to have all been, at least thats how it was justified originally so. Okay. Um, do you remember I mean have, have you known about this for and Im just gonna ask like more than two years, three years or did you just find out six months ago or? Oh, no, I, Ive, uh, I was made aware of it at, at some point after I first got here. Okay. Alright. And we, I mean we had several discussions about it. Okay. Uh, in fact, the cars were up there and we needed cars. Right. Reviewer: Capt. K.Holmes Page 6 of 9

WHITNEY: LICKING:

WHITNEY: LICKING:

WHITNEY: LICKING: WHITNEY: LICKING: WHITNEY: LICKING:

Investigator: Sgt. B. Licking, #S1122/Sgt. W. Mortensen, A7404 #982 Typed by: A9998 Date/Time: June 17, 2011/0800 hours

MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE Internal Affairs Division IA # 08-0080

WHITNEY:

And the, the, the standing order was dont go near those cars; leave them alone. Well, eventually, um, uh, cars were needed in other places like Human Smuggling or wherever and those cars were taken. Sure, okay. So Im not even sure where theyre at right now, to be honest. Right, okay, that sounds like a deal. Well, alright, well, like I said, um, that was (sigh) we just needed to figure out you know who knew what about this and you know what issues had been raised you know in regards to it and what not. Um, is there anything else that you can think of in regards to that that you think that I might need to know about? Uh, no. Like I said I, I dont wanna place blame on people but you know, um, I just talked about it with my bosses on a number of occasions and Ive you know I just dont, I dont know better than get the manpower from. Right. Uh, but I guess I was always worried that, uh, we had this equipment Right. but what are we doin about it? Sure.

LICKING: WHITNEY: LICKING:

WHITNEY:

LICKING: WHITNEY: LICKING: WHITNEY: LICKING:

Investigator: Sgt. B. Licking, #S1122/Sgt. W. Mortensen, A7404 #982 Typed by: A9998 Date/Time: June 17, 2011/0800 hours

Reviewer: Capt. K.Holmes Page 7 of 9

MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE Internal Affairs Division IA # 08-0080 WHITNEY: And I was always told that you know dont worry about it. We dont have the manpower right now so. Right. Um, now this is a question. Did, did you ever happen to write anything up or have any of, uh, anybody below you write anything up in regards to that or was it just kinda just verbal stuff between you and Chief Knight? It was just verbal stuff. Okay, gotcha, okay, sounds like a deal. Um, yeah, and I dont ever remember writing anything about it. I mean we had a number of discussions. It was just. Sure. It just, it just didnt, it sounded like they just didnt have the manpower to fill that position at that time, does that sound right? Right. And that wasnt a decision to be made at my level. Sure. Okay, sounds like a deal. Well, alright, um, like I said I, its (unintel 7:34). Every, every time I think I just about get the door closed, I got another spider web so. I know and I totally understand. (Chuckle) Are you about wrappin this thing up?

LICKING:

WHITNEY: LICKING: WHITNEY:

LICKING:

WHITNEY: LICKING:

WHITNEY: LICKING: WHITNEY:

Investigator: Sgt. B. Licking, #S1122/Sgt. W. Mortensen, A7404 #982 Typed by: A9998 Date/Time: June 17, 2011/0800 hours

Reviewer: Capt. K.Holmes Page 8 of 9

MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE Internal Affairs Division IA # 08-0080 LICKING: Uh, were tryin, yeah, were hopin to have this thing done, um, Id like to have it done this weekend. Oh, thatd be great. (Unintel 7:42) my thing written up, um, so. Thatd be awesome. That thatll be, uh, crossin my fingers so. Well, good luck. Thank you. I appreciate that. Alright, well, see ya later. Thanks, Captain. Alright, bye. Bye. Okay, and the time, uh, done, believe I put the start time on that but our ending time for that is approximately 2:40.

WHITNEY: LICKING: WHITNEY: LICKING: WHITNEY: LICKING: WHITNEY: LICKING: WHITNEY: LICKING: LICKING:

Investigator: Sgt. B. Licking, #S1122/Sgt. W. Mortensen, A7404 #982 Typed by: A9998 Date/Time: June 17, 2011/0800 hours

Reviewer: Capt. K.Holmes Page 9 of 9