Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s right hand man would have gotten down on his hands and knees to beg for the opportunity to be recertified. That is, if his knees still worked.
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“His knees don’t cooperate right now,” MCSO Undersheriff Jeff Gentry said to the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training board about Steven Bailey, during its last meeting. Known as AZPOST, the agency licenses all law enforcement in the state.
Bailey is one of three of the infamous former sheriff’s leadership team who were charged with criminal contempt of court a decade ago in the ongoing federal racial profiling case. The charges were ultimately dropped against Bailey. He retired from MCSO in 2017 but Sheriff Jerry Sheridan rehired him as Executive Chief of Enforcement after he took office. In his new role Bailey oversees all of MCSO’s enforcement and detention personnel. He is one of a number of Arpaio’s allies, including Sheridan himself, currently working at MCSO.
“So far he has turned out to be everything that we hoped for,” Gentry told the board.
MCSO requested that AZPOST grant Bailey a waiver to receive a restricted peace officer certification. It petitioned the board for the waiver because Bailey can’t take the physical test that is required for a full certification. The board voted to grant the waiver which means Bailey will be a certified peace officer again, except he can’t be given any duties where he’d have to use physical force.
Speed demon
The board is made up of 12 members, including Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry Director Ryan Thornell and representatives from multiple sheriff’s and police agencies around the state.
In addition to granting certifications, it has the ability to revoke and suspend them which makes it one of the few agencies in the state that can discipline officers. Last year, it punished 42 former and current officers.
In its final meeting of the summer, the board voted to send the case of a chronically reckless driver, Chad A. Matthews, who reached a peak speed of 127 mph back to staff because it thought the proposed discipline — an 18 month suspension of the former Goodyear police officer’s peace officer certification — was not harsh enough. Some board members noted that they couldn’t believe that Matthews didn’t face criminal charges.
The department initiated an internal investigation into former officer Matthews’ driving habits after it received complaints from citizens and other officers. It found at least 37 incidents of Matthews driving recklessly. Of those 37, he drove over 100 mph 17 times, reaching at least 120 mph four times. The investigation found that he blew through 27 red lights.
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Through his attorney, Chad Smith, Matthews blamed training from a previous job he had with a rural department in Washington state. But some of the board members disagreed with his explanation, noting that he’d been with Goodyear since 2022 and that at least one of the documented incidents occurred while off duty headed to an off-duty job.
“He’s blessed he didn’t hurt somebody,” said Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels, the AZPOST Board Chair.
The old guard
Two former officers had their certifications suspended by the board for domestic violence incidents.
- David A. Ellison, a former Buckeye police officer, received an 18 month suspension that ends in November for a 2024 incident. Ellison got into a drunken fight with his 15-year-old son about household rules. The son told police that Ellison choked him. Ellison said he used a “control hold” that might have restricted his son’s airway by accident. He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and quit the department before he could be fired.
- The board voted to suspend Bryce S. Wantland, a former Yavapai County sheriff’s deputy, for 18 months after he was arrested for domestic violence and fired for an incident with his daughter’s mother. According to the investigative material given to AZPOST, he put a GPS tracking device on her car. She found it and put it in her bra. He reached down her shirt to grab it, then climbed on top of her. She escaped and drove to a different sheriff’s office facility. He confronted her and was arrested for domestic violence. His attorney, Steve Serbalick, told the board that Ellison used the tracking device because he was concerned about his daughter’s safety, but acknowledged that he should have taken different steps.
The board disciplined three officers who lied about their whereabouts while on duty.
- Virgilio Dodd, a former Gila County sheriff’s deputy, was fired for saying he was driving to a training during an in-progress burglary call when he was actually in his office in the station. The board voted to give him a retroactive 12-month suspension that ended May 29 of last year.
- David J. Gomez, a former Safford police officer and Graham County sheriff’s deputy, lost his certification after his wife turned him in for being home while on duty. The resulting internal investigation found that he spent an average of 3 hours out of his 10 hour shifts for Graham County at home, lied about going to a shots fired call, and sent his wife sensitive law enforcement information.
- The board suspended Jaime I. Valenzuela, a former San Luis police officer with over 20 years of experience, for 18-months after he was caught visiting his girlfriend (and making dirty videos) in another town while on duty and lying to his supervisor about it.
The board disciplined two more officers for other offenses.
- Jesse Ryan, a former Pascua Yaqui police officer, had his certification revoked after he was caught meeting a lover for a tryst in a park while on duty and then lied about it.
- Nicholas J. Perez, a former Eloy police officer, received unique discipline from the board for dishonesty during his hiring process when trying to move between departments. Rather than revoke his certification, it voted to give him the max suspension — 3 years — after which his certification would lapse. If he wants to be a peace officer again he’ll have to start over. Perez admitted that he suspected his wife of cheating and secretly recorded her with a camera in the bedroom without her knowing — a crime — when they were fresh out of high school and still dating. He admitted the omission to the polygraphist and to not including in his application to the Chandler Police Department. The board debated how he passed his previous two polygraph tests — this was his second lateral move and third test — and whether he willfully omitted the crime from his application the first two times or just didn’t remember doing it.
The board voted to start investigations into two new cases.
- Kyle D. Nudelman, a former officer with the Clarkdale Police Department, confronted a 6-year-old boy while dropping his 5-year-old daughter off at school after she pointed at a him and said he hit her sometimes. A school resource officer and the principal intervened, trespassing him from the school. He resigned from the department that day and accepted a six month deferred prosecution for misdemeanor disorderly conduct and interference with an educational institution. If he complies with the requirements, the charges will be dismissed.
- Elijah L. Wilson, a former Phoenix police officer, lied to his supervisor about a traffic stop turned car chase with speeds up to 92 mph that led to felony gun charges against the suspect. Wilson told his supervisor that he and his partner had not yet run the suspect’s vehicle’s plates when they had, and that they hadn’t already tried to pull him over.
The new guard
The board also took pity on four recruits for past wrongs. It voted to dismiss its case against Tyler Garcia, an Apache Junction Police Department recruit, who got in trouble for dishonesty with the academy. Garcia was accused of lying or misleading academy staff about shaving his beard that morning when he’d shaved the night before. The board determined it was a misunderstanding because Garcia’s routine is to shave at night.
Tyler P. Hilliker, a former Pima County Sheriff’s Office recruit, was not as lucky. He was caught lying about previous cocaine use and trying to thwart the polygraph test when he first applied in 2025. He tried to apply again in 2026 — this time without the lies and chicanery — but his past application was flagged in a new hire audit. The board voted to begin proceedings to deny his certification.
The board granted waivers for three aspiring peace officers for previous drug use, clearing the way for them to become certified peace officers in Arizona.
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- Noel Sosa, a Phoenix Police Department recruit, took LSD at a three day music festival in 2017 and psychedelic mushrooms at the same festival the following year.
- Hayden Law, an MCSO recruit, also took psychedelic mushrooms in 2021.
- Leonardo Reyes, another Phoenix Police Department recruit, did cocaine more than a decade ago.
The board voted to deny certification to three recruits.
- Austin J. James, a former recruit with the Gilbert Police Department, got in trouble for lying about browsing ESPN.com during class time.
- Xavier R. Milligan, a former recruit with the Glendale Police Department, lied about using his cell phone without permission during academy hours.