DESERT DRAMA

Phoenix Police Officer Under Investigation After Allegedly Making ‘Credible Threat’ Against Mayor

The officer has called the allegation “ridiculous” while police in nearby Tempe conduct a criminal investigation.

A Phoenix police officer is under both criminal and internal investigation after he was accused of making a “credible threat” of violence against Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. ABC 15 reports that the officer, identified as Steve Poulos, a Phoenix police department employee of 22 years, denies the allegations, calling them “ridiculous.” Although the exact nature of the threat was unclear, Gallego has pushed in recent months for police reform, and, per a spokeswoman, now has additional police protection as a result of the threat. The Phoenix Police Department confirmed that the officer involved, who they did not name, was not on active duty, and that both an internal investigation and a separate criminal investigation by Tempe’s police department were underway.