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Two Tucson police officers have agreed to give up their peace officer certification following allegations the two had sex while on duty, documents show.
Officers Tania N. Rivera and Corey J. Gould were among five Tucson officers who gave up or lost their certification or had it suspended in the last three months, according to documents released by the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training board.
The case against Rivera, 33, and Gould, 38, was presented to the state board after Rivera was fired and Gould resigned, documents show.
Rivera and Gould dated each other between November 2003 and December 2004, during which time they were said to have engaged in on-duty sex, according to the reports.
There were also allegations that Rivera used the department's computers to gain personal information about other women Gould was seeing, the board's documents said.
Rivera voluntarily relinquished her certification in March as did Gould in February. The decision to voluntarily give up their certification is not an admission of guilt. It does, however, mean they cannot work as peace officers in Arizona.
Rivera began working for the department in November 1997 and was fired in January 2006. Gould was employed by Tucson police from September 2001 until November 2005 when he resigned in lieu of termination.
Prior to joining Tucson police, Gould was a Pima County sheriff's deputy for two years.
The officers could not be reached for comment. Tucson police declined comment Friday and would not release the officers' internal affairs files or their personnel files.
Probationary officers fired
Another Tucson police officer who can no longer work as a peace officer in Arizona is Richard P. Dupuy Jr., 23.
Dupuy was on the force for less than a year when he accidentally fired a gun while under the influence of alcohol and chose not to report it. He was off duty at the time.
According to documents from the state board, Dupuy also repeatedly got into bar fights while off duty over a six-month period. Each time he was intoxicated.
The accidental discharge occurred last spring after Dupuy and fellow officer Neil A. Chamberlain exchanged words with other patrons at the Cactus Moon nightclub in Midtown Tucson. Dupuy was prepared to fight in the parking lot but Chamberlain, 24, dragged him to a vehicle.
As they were dropping off a woman at her home, Dupuy got out of the car to let the woman out and as he did, he dropped a gun, the report said.
When he reached down to pick it up, he inadvertently placed his finger on the trigger, causing the gun to go off.
He blamed the incident on the fact that he was intoxicated, the report said.
Dupuy and Chamberlain were fired in August 2006 with no option to appeal because both were still probationary officers.
In March, Dupuy's certification was revoked. A month earlier, Chamberlain's certification was suspended for one year.
Gone for lying
Also in March, Vincent P. Fuca, a seven-year Tucson police veteran, had his certification suspended for a year retro-active to June 2006 when he resigned in lieu of termination.
Fuca, 49, was scheduled to attend advanced officer training in February 2006 but instead called in and lied to his sergeant about why he could not attend, the state board's documents show.
He was going through a divorce and told his supervisor that he could not attend training because he had been called into court to deal with that matter.
Upon being questioned later about his absence, Fuca admitted that he had lied.
A Tucson police captain wrote in a report to Chief Richard Miranda that while the decision regarding Fuca was difficult, it is important for the department and the community to have "ultimate confidence in the veracity of its police officers."
Tucson police on Friday could not discuss these specific cases but Deputy Chief Kermit Miller in charge of the Professional Standards Division did issue this statement:
"All issues of misconduct are thoroughly investigated by the Tucson Police Department. The termination and resignation prior to termination of these officers are the result of the high standards and values set by this agency."
Want to read more about crime in Tucson? Check out the Police Beat blog updated by the Star's public safety reporters at go.azstarnet.com/policebeat
â— Contact reporter Alexis Huicochea at 629-9412 or [email protected].
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