Okay. All right, I am Sergeant John Buckley assigned to Internal Affairs. Today's date is Wednesday, July 22nd, 2020. It is approximately 14:59 hours. We are at the John F. Duffy Administrative Center in a private conference room located in Internal Affairs. Present for this interview is accused employee Deputy Andrew Phillips, who's represented by attorney Rick Pinkard. Assisting me today is Sergeant Michael Binsfield from Internal Affairs. Additionally, Sergeant Cesar Ceballos from Internal Affairs is present as an observer only and will not be participating in the interview. Do you have any objections to his presence? No, sir. No, sir. Okay. Are you aware that I'm recording this interview? Yes, sir. Purpose of this interview is to discuss Internal Affairs case number 2020-017.1. Prior to beginning this interview, I provided you with a copy of the complaint form. This complaint alleges that on January 28th, 2020, you were arrested for vandalism by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Before I begin the interview, I will read you the Li Barger admonition. You have the right to remain silent. If you give up the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used in court against you. You have the right to speak to with an attorney of your choice before questioning and to have an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you by the court prior to any questioning if you so desire. The attorney will not cost you anything. The services are free. Do you understand each of these rights I have explained to you? Yes. Having in mind and understanding your rights as I've explained to you, are you willing to speak with me? No. At this time, I'm going to question you about Internal Affairs Case Number 2020-017.1. This questioning concerns administrative matters relating to the official business of the Sheriff's Department. I'm not questioning you for the purposes of instituting a criminal complaint against you. During the course of this questioning, even if you do disclose information which indicates that you may be guilty of criminal misconduct, neither yourself incriminating statements nor fruits of any self-incriminating statements you make will be used in any criminal Excuse me. Criminal legal proceedings. Since this is an administrative matter and any self-incriminating information you may disclose will not be used against you in a court of law, you are required to answer my questions fully and truthfully. If you refuse to answer my questions, this in itself is a violation of the rules of the department and you will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination. Do you have any questions concerning what I have just explained to you? No. I'm now ordering you to answer the following questions. Before the interview began, did you have a chance to read the Sheriff's Policy and Procedure sections as they relate to 2.15 Insubordination, 2.3 Intervention, 2.41 Departmental Reports, and 2.46 Truthfulness? Yes. Do you understand each of these sections? Yes. Do you understand your obligation to adhere to them? Yes. Did I give you an opportunity to review the nature of the allegation? Yes. I also provided you with Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Declaration of Arrest Report, uh arrest/detective report, a crime scene investigation report with um several thumbnail photographs attached, and a court register of actions. Did you have an opportunity to review review those reports uh with your attorney? Yes. Okay. Do you have any questions about any of that? No. Okay. Okay. So, how long have you worked for the sheriff's department? 9 years. Okay. Um do you have any prior law enforcement experience? No. Okay. Prior military? Yes. And where was that? That was uh 4 years in the Marine Corps. Okay. Um what was your um MOS? Yes. That was a 7051 crash fire rescue. Okay. And what is that? It's uh airport firefighting. Okay. Um what was your assignment with the sheriff's department prior to this incident? I was a traffic investigator in Poway. Okay. And how long were you in that assignment? Same. Maybe almost a year and a half. Okay. Um so, briefly take me through your assignments with the sheriff's department after you graduated from the academy. I was assigned to George Bailey Detention Facility for a couple years. I transferred to Vista Detention Facility. Then from there I went to the law enforcement academy. Got stationed in Vista Patrol, became a perp deputy there, and then from there transferred to Poway traffic. Okay. So, you were originally hired as a corrections deputy, corrections deputy? Yes. Um and then South Bay, how long did you do there? About? At George Bailey? Or George Bailey? I'd say 3 years. Okay. And then Vista? Vista, just under a year. Okay. And then do you remember which regional academy you went to? It was the 104th. 104th. And uh you did your face you went straight out to patrol from the academy. You did your face training in Vista. Yes. And how long were you Vista patrol? Vista patrol, I'd say 3 years. Okay. And then you went to Poway traffic. Yes. Okay. Um So, at the time of this incident, prior to this incident, when you were Poway traffic, who was your supervisor at that time? Um Sorry, I have you now. Mental block right now. It was um Oh, why can't I remember this? Sorry. That's okay. A lot going through my brain right now. Yeah, no, I I understand. Um Oh my god. We can come back to that. I think I I think I know who it was. Was it Dave? Um Now I'm drawing a blank. I This is my sergeant. Oh my goodness. Okay, we'll go back to that. What's going on right now? Uh Did Did you notify your supervisor that you were arrested? No. Okay, why not? The The the the arresting officer told me that morning that he'd already contacted the department. Okay. Do you know that it's your obligation also to let your supervisor know? Right. Yes. Okay. Well, let me let me break that up for a little bit. But, you know now that that's your responsibility. At the time of this event, did you know that? Well, at the at the time of the event I when they said they had already contacted the department, I thought that was By the time I got out of the directory I had the voicemail from you saying to give you a call. So, I thought they're already notified. Okay. Um at the time of this incident, uh where were you living? Or prior to this incident, I guess I should say. You want my home address? Um Yeah, yeah. Well, where were you living at the time? Okay. And who are you living with? Um So, then who did you go to Las Vegas with? Las Vegas, I went with at that time was a girl that I'd been talking to. Okay. And who was that? That was um Tell me about your relationship with uh prior to this incident. So, prior to this, I was living at home with with with time. vacation. And I'd been seeing her off and on every week or two. Okay. And where did you meet her on vacation? I met her in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico. Okay. Um And so, just I mean, briefly tell me about your relationship with with her. You would see each other um I'd say probably once a week or two. Okay. And would you would you stay over there for several days at a time? No. Okay. Um did you leave keep any stuff there? At that time, no. Okay. Um Did you talk about what happened regarding um the arrest. So, that day when I got out of jail, yeah, we we were trying to figure out what happened that night. Okay. And what what did you guys talk about? We We both talked about that we didn't remember anything. Like I told her what happened, she told me what happened, and both of us were clueless on what happened. Okay. So, what did you tell her that happened? So, I told her the last thing I remember is having a drink upstairs with this with these people that we met, and then I was like from there it was a blank. And then she tells me the same thing. Okay. And then that then that's when I was like, you know, I had a couple hundred dollars that was missing, she was missing her expensive watch, and I'm like, what what happened? Like, where's all of our stuff at? And we'll we'll get more into that probably later. Um Are you aware that I interviewed her regarding this investigation? Yes, she told me you called her. Okay. Did you talk to her uh about what her and I talked about? No. Um Prior to this incident, had has there ever been any violence between Cuz she she had some some bruises, and do you know where or how she got those those bruises? I do not. Um All right. So, why were you in Las Vegas? What why did the two of you go? Just vacation. Okay. And what was um I mean, what was the plan? Where were you staying? When did you check in? How long were you there and and all that? Uh she she's like a VIP member or something, so she had a couple free nights to stay at the Luxor. So, that's what just last moment thing, like, oh, let's just go. It's two free nights. Mhm. So, we spent the first two nights there at the Luxor and then the the third night the third where we're checking out and we weren't feeling too good. So, we're like, let's just stay another day. So, that's when I'd never been to the Rio and she likes the Rio. So, she's like, oh, let's stay there. So, that's how we ended up there. Okay. And about when did you check into the Rio? Yeah, that I don't know. It was in the morning and then you Yeah, no, I'd say the afternoon. I would say probably probably around 3:00, somewhere around there. Um and So, how long did you guys I mean, did you did you check in and drop your stuff and go or or did you hang out in the room or Yeah, we hung out in the room cuz we were still tired from the previous two nights of being in Vegas. So, we went to the room, took a nap. Okay. Um did you take any weapons with you to Las Vegas? Yes. And what did you take with you? I took my off-duty carry Glock 43. Okay. Anything else? That's it. Okay. Um and how many magazines did you take? Just one. Believe just one. The one that's in it or did you take an extra one? Just the one that's in it. Okay. Um and how do you how do how did you carry it? How do you carry it? Uh inside the waistband holster in the carrying the front right here. Okay. Um and did you have it with you the whole time? In Vegas? Yes. Okay. Um And when you checked in, did did the Rio did they ask you about any weapons about if if you if you had any weapons or anything when you checked in? No. Were you aware of any kind of policy about about checking any weapons in with their security? No. Okay. Um how about the Luxor? Did they have anything regarding No, the Luxor the Luxor actually had in the room safes. So, that's where I left it when we're staying at the Luxor. But, the Rio I remember the room didn't have a safe. So, that's why and I didn't feel comfortable leaving it in there unattended, so. Right. And then how did you get how did you get to Las Vegas? I drove. Which car? My car. Okay. Um and do you have any kind of um lock box or anything in in your car? No. What kind of car do you have? Dodge Challenger. And do you have a trunk? Yes. Have you ever secured any weapons in the trunk? No. Um All right, so so we're at the Rio and you check in, you said you guys took a nap. So, after the nap what what did you do? And and and where I'm going with this is is when I I mean I'm going to assume you were drinking. Is that a fair assumption? At that point? Well, at some at some point you were drinking. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, that's right. So, that that's where I'm kind of going here. Okay. So, uh you said you checked in, you took a nap. So, after the nap what what happened? After the nap we got up, we showered, we got ready, and we just went downstairs to go walk around. I mean I don't really like gambling, so we're just walking around and seeing what was in the casino. Okay. Did you do any drinking up in the room? N- not I I don't I don't think so. Cuz I I think we ran out of alcohol from the previous day. Okay. check. Sorry, I'm like in shock. No, it's okay. No, I think about it. Take your time. Yeah, I'm pretty sure we didn't. Okay. Um So, at what point then did you did you start drinking? Oh, I would say as soon as probably we went downstairs, stopped at the bar and had a drink. Okay. And what were you drinking? We were drinking What was I drinking in there? Vodka tonic. Okay. Um do you remember about what time that was you first started? It was night time. I would 9:00 maybe, somewhere around there. Um So, then about how many drinks did you have um until you uh went upstairs? And we're going to get into We're going to get into going upstairs and who you met with and all that. But about how many drinks did you have um until until you went upstairs? So, by the time we met those people and all that, Uh-huh. I'd say three. Okay. Three vodka tonics? Correct. Okay. Um and did you stay at the Rio? Yes. Okay. Um So, throughout the contact, and this is also the officers there had body-worn camera. And so, a lot of what I'm going to to tell you and some of the quotes and things are taken directly out of the body-worn camera footage, okay? Okay. Um we do have it available if you and Mr. Pinkard want to watch it to verify that, but um But this is what's I mean it's it's on it's on the footage. So Throughout the contact with the officers, um You told them you had one drink in 10 hours, one drink in 7 hours, one drink in six to seven hours uh ago. Um, and then you said you had a few drinks. And you told security you had multiple beers. Um Do you know why you kind of stuck to that one drink? Okay. I I don't remember any of that. Okay. Um, by any of that do you mean the drinks or telling telling people that? I mean I don't I don't remember telling anybody anything. I don't remember. Okay. Can you tell from that statement, obviously when I'm not listening to it, but can you tell from that statement whether he is recounting a cumulative three drink total over uh however many hours or whether that was three different iterations of a single drinking pattern? Three different iterations. And what it is is is essentially essentially what it is is you're trying to convince the officers that you're not intoxicated. Okay. That's that's the context of it. Okay. Thanks. Um And so really that I mean that's really my question. And and a lot of the questions are going to go toward toward whether you you you know, whether you remember or not. Um And and for for our context, was that conversation at the police station, at the hotel, or where? So this is this is um at the hotel as uh the officers are conducting their preliminary investigation. Um And so what So basically basically what happens and I'll and I'll set up the context for for a majority of the body worn camera footage is that uh the officers uh receive the radio call. Um they respond and uh Deputy Phillips is outside in the valet area. the parking or the well, the valet area. And um that's where the preliminary investigation is conducted and that's where uh Deputy Phillips is providing uh these statements is out in the valet area to officers on their body worn camera footage. Um as well as some of the security that's relaying uh their observations to um to the officers on scene. So, this is the same period of time where they reflect in their reports that he was obviously intoxicated. Yes. Okay. Um did you or Miss consume anything other than alcohol? No. Any kind of narcotics? No. Marijuana? No. Okay. And the reason why I ask is because um the sergeant So, they they they try to find to your room because you couldn't be located to conduct a welfare check to see if she was there. And and the sergeant had had noted that it smelled like weed. He said it smells like weed. Um in the room. Um can you explain why the sergeant would say something Yeah, so when we checked into the room, we noticed that too. We're like We're like, "Dude, this room smells like marijuana." So, we I think she went downstairs to ask for a different room, and they're like, "Well, that's the only one we had." Okay. So. Okay. All right. So. Let's Let's get into the events leading up to um to to the arrest. So, you're So, you're downstairs. Uh you have three vodka tonics. You're the Uh is she the only one that you went to Las Vegas with? Yes. Okay. Um did you meet anybody out there that that you knew? Yes, so when we were at the bar down there, we met two girls and a guy. Okay. And we had a drink with them. And then from that, that's when they were like, "Hey, let's go up to our room and you know, we have more alcohol and stuff up there." Okay. So. Um So, describe these two girls and the guy for me. They was all Caucasian. I mean, blonde hair. The guy was I think they're all from Germany. Cuz they had They were speaking German. They had accents. But, other than that, I don't remember too many details of them. Okay. Um And So, again, this this just on body worn camera, you you told the officer that spends most of the time with you, his name is Officer Wright Backy, that you saw a girl that you liked and uh a male that she liked, and you were going to have a good time by inviting them them up. Um can you explain that to me? Yeah, so this was the the two girls and the guy and everyone was being super flirtatious with each other and all that and cuz normally we would never go up to someone's room, but in this scenario we were like, well, you know, they're cute girls. I guess he was a attractive looking guy. I was like, well, let's go upstairs and just see where it goes. Okay. Um and Yes. Okay. Cuz when I asked her about that, she said that she didn't know what that meant. Like she didn't know what what you were talking about. Oh. It's kind of embarrassing to admit, I guess, but could see. Okay. Um we've never done anything like that, never have in my life. I mean, that's what I said. It was just just, I guess, bad night. Okay. Um so then about how long were you down in the bar before you met up with with these people? I I I could not tell you. I'd say maybe an hour or two. No clocks in Vegas, right? Right. You don't know what time it is in the casinos. Right. Um and so you had three vodka tonics before you met up with them and then how much did you have to drink uh when you all were hanging out down at the bar? I think I think I had two and then when we were hanging out I had a third with them. Okay. And then that's when, you know, we're like, why we paying $15 a drink? They were like, let's go up to our room, we have alcohol. Okay. Um so then you to the room, do you all five of you go up together, the two I want to say the the females went up first while we were finishing our drink and then we went up with the male. Okay. Um So then when you got to the room, uh who was there? And this is And this is their the Germans' room. This is their room, not your room. Correct. Okay. Do you remember what room that was? No. Okay. Do you remember what floor that was on? No. Okay. Um So you get up to the room and who who all's there? It was the two girls and two guys. Okay. Um the same one of the guys being the same one that you had met downstairs? Yes. And then describe the other one for me. I think it was his boss or something or co-worker. Uh German guy also. I don't think he spoke any English. Cuz I don't remember really talking to him that much. Okay. Yes. So at this point you're in the room and where where is your gun at this point? Still in my waistband. So what's going on in the room? Like what's like it describe the room for me. I mean what what's kind of the general vibe? How's it going? It's good. Everyone's laughing, telling jokes and just talking with each other in the living room area right there. And then uh I want to say the guy we met was like in the little kitchen area or something and he's the one that started making drinks for everybody. And what kinds of drinks was he making? Yeah, I don't remember. Vodka and Coke maybe or something. I honestly don't remember. Were you guys doing any shots? No. Nope, I remember just having that one drink that he gave us and everything happens from there. Okay. Um Well, we're going to get into everything happens. So So you had said that there was some kind of deal that that was going to go down and that was part of the reason why you went up to the room. What What was the deal? Oh, good. So the conversation was he was his business in Germany was like cabinets and he's trying to get into open her own business like a flooring business. So then that's when That was another reason why we went up. He was like, "Oh, let me get you the information so if we could try to get you know, stuff imported from Germany here to America and like you know, be in business together. So that's like what the whole conversation started out down there at the bar. Okay. Um Because then that So So the good times everybody's laughing and telling jokes turns into some sort of what what you describe as a as as I'm I'm going to quote your words, a heated debate. Um What was this heated debate about? That That was part of the joke too was like I remember when the the German guy was something about like Germany's way better than America kind of you know stuff. So we started arguing over you know No, America's better. No, Germany's better kind I mean heated debate, I don't know about that. Okay. I would put that more in the we were joking around kind of. Okay, cuz at at some point you tell the officer you say and I'm going to quote here "What two dudes want to [ __ ] your girl in a room here? Something's going to happen." Yeah. What What's that about? Don't remember at all. You don't You don't remember saying that? No. So, from the time he gave us those drinks, within I'd probably say 2 3 minutes after that, I don't remember anything. Except waking up in a police car. And that's all thing. She didn't remember anything from that point forward. Zero memory. So, what do you think happened to you? Well, from us talking to each other and like we pretty sure we were drugged. So, looking back at it, I'm like, I don't know if it was like a setup or, you know, it's too perfect. You have two girls, a guy coming to our room. We We have a drink and then we don't remember anything from the night. And I said I was missing a couple hundred dollars. She's missing her watch, like a $2,000 watch. And Did you get tested at all? I asked. I remember asking that morning when I woke up in the car for the the arresting officer. I was like I was like, "Please, can you call a phlebotomist?" I was like, "I think I was drugged." Okay, and what was their response? And I I can't remember anything. He was like, "Okay, you know, you know, I'll get on it." Typical. Um what uh What about What about doing it just on your own? Privately. By getting tested Right. yourself. By the time I got out of jail and dealt with all that stuff, I mean, that was not even on my mind anymore. I was more worried about this, internal affairs, and And Now that I look back at it, yeah, I should have. And I understand that, but I mean, that's a pretty good defense for one, the arrest, and two, the internal affairs, right? That probably would have been a pretty good defense. Right. Cuz I obviously concerned as well and and if she didn't get arrested and and she had talked to you about it, um and why didn't she get tested as well? I I asked her if she wanted to get tested and you know, we talked about it that day and then just on the way back driving home and all that. I mean, I don't know. I just started worrying about other stuff. Okay. Okay, so you have So, how long were you in the room for? The room? Hanging out, yeah. I I do not know. Okay. I would say we were in there for from what I remember 10 15 minutes from just complete blackout. Okay. And do you remember I remember that when So, the drinks that the guy gave us, I think some point of when she was drinking it, she spilled it on herself or someone knocked it on her. I can't remember, honestly. I just remember like she got wet from it. Mhm. So, then that's when she was like, "Oh, I'm going to go back to the room and change real quick." Okay, so she left you there? Yeah, so then she left. And then from there, I would say I don't within a few minutes, I don't remember anything from that point. Okay. Do you remember her um flirting at all with with the German guys? At what point? Downstairs, upstairs, or Um upstairs. No. Saying anything about wanting to um to suck the boss or anything like that? No. Okay. I do not. Okay. Um So I'm like, did I say that or she said that or The German said that. Okay. So So you have absolutely no recollection from the drink to The drink and it's daylight and I'm in the back of a squad car and the arresting officer is typing a report. And that's when I remember I was like, what what happened? What's going on? Why am I back here? Okay. Um And you don't know anything I mean are are you were you told anything? I mean you you read the report. So were you told anything that that anybody said or that or that happened? Well, the arresting officer he he started telling me. He's like cuz I was like, what happened? I don't remember anything. And he was like, well, you were drinking and you punched a hole in the wall. And he's like, and you had your firearm on you. That's pretty much the gist of what he told me. And I was like, well, what am I being arrested for? And he's like, vandalism. Okay. Um Do you recall you any of your interactions with uh the Rio hotel security? No. Did you get into a fight with the Germans in the room? No. I mean, from from the point after the drink, I don't know. Like I said, that next day I had a big knot on my head. Know what happened. We're missing stuff. I don't know if we got robbed, if we got jumped, if I don't know what happened. Okay. Um So, when when Las Vegas Metro PD arrives, um you spontaneously stated that that you were deputy sheriff from San Diego Sheriff's Department like as soon as they got there. Why Why would you Why would you state that? Well, first of all, do you have a recollection of saying that? I do not. Okay. But, I can speculate on maybe why I would But, it seemed like I I realized I have a weapon on me and if I'm being contacted by law enforcement, I would, you know, tell them, "Hey, I'm off duty. I have a weapon on me." But, I don't remember. Um when you got out of jail, she picked me. Okay. Did you call her from jail? I called her Uh no, I called her once I got released. From your cell phone? Yeah, cuz they gave me my property back and yeah, my cell phone was in there. When did you realize you had money and property missing? Right right there. Okay. Cuz I was like, "There's stuff missing from my bag." Did you file a report with Metro? Uh no. Any particular reason? No. It was minor to me at that point. I was like, "Got to Going to deal with all of this is going to be way more major than couple hundred dollars." I believe she called though a few days later and asked about her watch. Called who? Called Metro. Okay. Yeah. I don't think they'll I don't think they took a report though. Was she taken into custody? She was detained. She told me that they handcuffed her and put her in a car, too. Okay. So. Um. So. When you were before the incident, you were in Vegas for a couple days. Presumably drinking, that's what we do when we go to Vegas, right? Mhm. Um, were you carrying your weapon like No, so So, at the Luxor, there was a there was a safe in the room. So, I left it in there. In the Rio, there was no safe. Okay. So, and like I said, when we went into the room, it smelled like marijuana. So, we tried to get another room. They said they didn't have any, that they were going to send, you know, cleaning crew up to try to, you know, disinfect it or something. So, I didn't want to leave a gun in there, no safe. Okay. Made that terrible decision to just keep it on me. Okay. Um. When you checked in, you said you checked in around 3:00 p.m. into the Rio. Yeah, I mean, my best guess would be around General. Yeah. And then you went to your room and they said you said that it smelled like like marijuana. You couldn't. And what time did you go up to the room with the Germans? General. Say maybe 10:00. Somewhere. So, that's 7 hours. Yeah, some. And then what time did Metro What time was Metro pulled up? About 22 13, I I believe. Okay. So, let's say it's 7 hours. The marijuana smell is still lingering after 7 hours? Yeah, even the next morning when we went back to the room, it still reeked in there of it. Okay. All right, that's our firearm policy. What's What's our policy regarding use of alcohol? All all active duty. The last time I checked, it was you can you can have some, but just not be intoxicated. What? You mean like carrying a firearm or Uh first, just just use of alcohol. Just within reason, I mean. Okay. I don't know verbatim what it says. Right, and that's okay. Um What about What about What about carrying a firearm? Yeah, that one the last time I read that was you can have some alcohol, it's not forbidden, but just not to be intoxicated. Okay. So, after your three um after your three drinks, were you feeling the effects of alcohol? Yeah, a little bit. And you were still carrying your firearm? Yes. Um Do you know the policy about identifying yourself as uh as a law enforcement officer? Yeah, it's the you're not allowed to do it to try to gain like favoritism or something to those lines. What else? Anything else? Uh No. Um Can I ask you a question, sir? Cuz I don't know the answer. Sure. I know that there have been some change on the uh alcohol with a firearm. What is the current policy? Uh 2.34 uh when consuming an amount of alcoholic beverages that would tend to adversely affect a reasonable person's senses or judgment or render the employee unfit to report for their next regular tour of duty. There There's more, but that's um Is that the general alcohol policy or is that the That's the carrying of firearms. Oh, okay. 2.34 Okay. Yeah, I wasn't sure if they had just basically went to a zero tolerance. If you're drinking, you can't carry. Period. Doesn't sound like that, though. Um when authorized for off-duty carry, firearm shall be concealed from public view when the employee is wearing civilian attire. That's That's the carrying. Um use of alcohol off-duty is 2.18. And you can, you know, you I'm sure you have. Yeah. Yeah, I remember reading that. No, they went to zero tolerance. sorry. That's not That's abuse of position. Use of alcohol off-duty is 2.14. I apologize. 2.14 Um Okay. So So, I guess going over everything that you said while while you were talking to Las Vegas Metro's probably a fruitless endeavor. Right? Cuz you don't remember anything. Right. I mean it's what happened happened, whatever, you know, it's on body camera. I mean, I'm not denying it. I just don't remember any of it. Okay. Um Well, so here's something that you said and I just I want to get your thoughts on it. So, you So, you referred to when you're talking about the people that you were with, uh you referred to them and I'm going to quote, you called them uh [ __ ] Russians. And then you said, and this These are all the different the different points throughout the contact. Uh these freaking German idiots, Russian, German, whatever the hell they are. They were speaking some other damn language. Um and another quote, "Russians come to our country, cause [ __ ] I'm the one who gets in trouble." Um I mean, do you have a problem with with uh Russian nationals or German nationals? No, I do not. Okay. Otherwise, I wouldn't be hanging out and drinking with them. I mean, Okay. I mean, do you have a Do you have a general problem with people who who quote, like you said, "Come to our country." End quote. No. Okay. Um You You asked several times to speak to a sergeant. Again, I As you said, you you don't remember that, but why why in your mind would you feel the need to speak with a supervisor on scene? Why do I think now if I requested a sergeant? That's just cuz I knew that this was going to be, you know, that's sticky situation of being off duty and, you know, LE from another state and just want a supervisor present to make sure everything goes right. Um What What was the disposition of the criminal case? It was dismissed. Okay. And it was dismissed because you paid restitution? How did that How did that go down? Did you Did you go back to Las Vegas and go go to court? Right. So, so the morning I Um Uh I requested to speak to the whoever was in charge, the supervisor. And then uh so they sent the head of security and like a manager out. Mhm. And that's when the security officer was like He's like, "You know, you guys can stay till check out." He's like, "But we just don't want you to come back anymore." And uh I asked the su- uh the super manager, whatever she was. I was like, "What What do you want?" And she's like, "I just want you to pay for the damage that you did." I said, "Okay, that's fair." So I paid for the damage. I think a month later I had court. The judge asked if the Fifth they wanted to press charges or prosecute. Attorney said, "No." Then they asked if I had paid for it. Said, "Yes." And then the judge was like, "Okay, it's dismissed." How much did you pay? Like a thousand dollars. Thousand and something. And you you paid that morning? Yes. Yes, as soon as I got out, yeah. Do you know Do you know the name of the manager that you dealt with? Mm. No. Okay. Did you see the damage that you caused? No, I didn't. Cuz I was going to say I No, cuz it was on a different floor. So. That's why I thought I was like, "Thousand dollars?" I was like, "Holy moly, that's a lot of That's a lot of money." How were you aware that it was on a different floor? That's what the the arresting officer told me. He's like He's like, "You made it to the right room that morning." He goes, "You just made it on the wrong floor." Okay. And that's when he told me, he's like, "You punched a hole in the wall or something, and that's what you're being arrested for." I didn't see it until right now with the pictures that you guys gave us. Okay. So the So the officer that spent most of the time with you, Officer Rybacki, um he said that your your behavior did not reflect well as a representative of the Sheriff's Department. He said that you were rude and disrespectful, and this is in my interview with him, not body worn camera. Um he also said that you did not take responsibility for your actions. Um and that and that you felt that this was a frivolous crime. So So this vandalism was a frivolous crime. Um do you feel that vandalism is a frivolous crime? No. I look back at it now, and I realize, you know, even though I don't remember doing it, I take full ownership of it. You know. And Um so you take responsibility for that now? Yes. And like I said, that I don't remember ever speaking to him or any of that until that morning, and that was just for a few minutes of what he told me what happened that night. Right. So one thing that I do want to talk about is that you So um and again, so now I'm going back to body worn camera footage, and um and this is to the officer Rybacki that spent most of his time with you. Um and you say to him, um and this is in reference to uh you standing there in handcuffs. Uh you said, quote, "I would never do this to you. I've been put in this situation a [ __ ] thousand times." Um and quote. And then um you asked to be un-handcuffed and they let you go back to your room without any paperwork. And then, and I I know you don't recall, Officer Reinbach, you said that that's not how it worked. Um, and you stated, quote, "It does. That's how it works on my department. We don't [ __ ] blue falcon each other." What does blue falcon mean? Blue falcon was a term we used in the Marine Corps. So, if you, you know, screwed over one of your buddies. Okay. So, did you So, why why would you say that to the officer? I Like I said, I don't remember any of that. But, I mean, don't you say I was handcuffed maybe to have me handcuffed me or Okay. How did And how does what work on her department? You said that that's not how it works on her department. I I'm seriously, sergeant, I have no idea. I was What you're reading to me is shocking to me. I've never, you know, I've never read any of this or known any of this that even happened that night. So, it's actually putting the picture together more for me than what's but Right. And the and the and the concern is, and actually one of one of the officers expressed this concern during my interview with him, was that when people drink, they tend to say things that um, that that they feel that they probably shouldn't say, right? So, so, that's the concern here is that your um, your intoxication whether it was voluntary or not, right? You're saying you're saying some things that um, that just I I mean, I I don't want to say are not appropriate cuz I'm not going to make that judgment, but that but that someone feel um are inappropriate in how you really feel about things. And that's a concern for you know, somebody in law enforcement, somebody on the department, right? Right. Um And so that And so that's why I ask. Understanding that you don't recall saying that, but you said it nonetheless. Right. So is that Is that how you I mean, is that how you feel about um being contacted by other law enforcement while they're doing a conducting a preliminary investigation? No, I do not. I just from looking back at like why I might have been irritated or mad at that point, it's because like I said, I thought I just got robbed or punched or something happened with these German people, and then I'm the one being handcuffed at that point, so it's like, why am I in handcuffs and no one else's? So I think that's what would be why I started saying stuff like that. How did you know nobody else was in handcuffs? Well, she was in the back of the car in handcuffs. All right. How about anybody else? Well, so she told me she was like, when I when she went down, she's like, they were all talking, and then I was in the car handcuffed. But what about anybody else? You said that you knew nobody else was in That's That's what she told me when she was explaining the scene when she came down. And then right now what you're saying, if I said that stuff, I mean, which clearly I did, it's on body worn camera, but I don't remember that. But I mean, that I'm just trying to piece it together here on like why I might have said something. The problem we're having here is that we're asking him to speculate in a room when he's stone cold sober, when he's uh know, now realizes that this whole incident was not a good thing. Right. That he's uh in the midst of an internal affairs investigation. Uh you know, his state of mind when he's been roofied or whatever happened to him is going to be very different than what his state of mind is here. Uh and your point is well taken. Yeah, the question is legitimate. Do you believe that peace officers of any agency should be afforded any kind of favorable treatment when they break the law by any other law enforcement agency? That's a legitimate question. That goes to what uh you know, what he uh will do moving forward. And I think he answered that question. But to try to get him in this environment to put himself back into the state of mind that he was at in that environment uh that's I mean, he's pissed off. I mean, I I would be, too. I'm I'm handcuffed, my head hurts, my money's gone. Uh I'm going to be dealing with internal affairs. Uh you know, I'm going to have a court appearance. You know, the world is crashing in on me. So, what I say and what I'm thinking then is very different than you know, what I'm going to do when I'm clean and sober and go back to work. Right. The problem is what happened then. I mean, that's I I I understand. And what happened then is on BWC. I mean, we don't need to listen to uh a Metro PD officer's assessment of what his demeanor a Metro PD officer's assessment of what his demeanor was. We can We can watch it. Right. And you know, he's he's accountable for his demeanor, and he knows that. All right. You previously said that you came to in the back of the squad car. Um you previously said that you came to in the back of the squad car and the sun was up. Yeah. How long were you in the back of the police car cuz you you got contacted at 22:30, and now sun's up presumably the next day and you're in the back of the car. So Sorry, yes. You're in the back of the car for Yeah, I don't even remember what time I was contacted but 6 or 7 hours? Yeah, I don't even remember what time I was contacted but yeah, I I remember when I came to it was the sun was coming up. It was daylight coming up. And you were in a police car? Yeah, I was in the back of the police car still handcuffed and trying to figure out how did I get there? Okay. Um describe what happened when you got booked in the jail. I got booked in um So from that car I remember the officer he was typing his report or you know, and that's when I started asking him and he was telling me little bits and pieces of why I was being arrested and what happened during the night. And then from there it was uh Like a transport van or something came. They put me in there and then they drove me down to the jail. And then from there it was like a normal intake process where they you know, take off your shoes and all that stuff and fingerprinted, photographed. Then I talked to like a booking and then I don't know, say a couple hours later they released me. Okay. No sober inside or anything like that? No. Just a standard holding cell? Were you with anyone else? No, by myself. Make phone calls? No. They were there to pick you up? Yeah. Okay. And then you went back to the hotel? Correct. And they were okay with you staying there for a little bit longer? Yeah, so as soon as we went back that's when I requested to talk to a manager and then that's when the head of security came out also and then told me what I did and told him I'm sorry for it and you know, I was willing to pay for the damages and they're like, "Okay, it's $1,000." I paid it right then and there. And the security guard was like He's like, "You know what? You know, clearly my demeanor and attitude was completely different but that point. He's like, "You guys can stay till check out. I know you're tired. You just spent the whole night in jail or whatever." He's like, "But after this He's like, I don't want you to come back here anymore." And I agreed to it. Physically, how did you feel? How did I I felt terrible. It was like pounding headache. I mean, just felt like I was sick. Okay. Have you ever felt that way before from drinking? No. Have you had a hangover before? Yeah, I've had a hangover. This Yeah, this was not a hangover. This was different. How? It was just It was like way more severe. Way more I was like like sunlight was bothering me. Bright lights were bothering me. Normally like if I have a hangover, it's just a headache. Mhm. And uh how long did that last? That lasted That lasted the entire day. I mean, now I don't know if this was a lot of like anxiety and all that kicking in in my body. I've never been in this position before. I mean, yeah. And then you left and came home? Home being San Diego? Yes. How did you get home? We drove. You drove? I drove. The entire way? Yes. Okay. I mean, it's It's a little little foggy still, but yeah, pretty sure I drove all the way. It's It's fine at this point. I don't I hope you won't drive again if you're a little foggy. No, that's Yeah, definitely. foggy. No, that's Yeah, definitely. Do you Did you kind of come to um prior to them taking you to the restroom. Do you remember them taking you to the restroom in the casino? No. I'm just saying they referred to the security. I'm sorry, the officers. Okay. I'm not sure. Not sure if they were taking you to the restroom. Through the through the casino. While you were sitting in the back of the car for a while. Cuz you you were you were in the back of the car. You were you were outside for a while. Then they put you in the car. Um, so you you were there in the valet for quite some time. Um, just for your memory. Once I like when you're saying like are you sure it was daylight? I'm like I'm pretty positive it was daylight. That's why I was like It very well could have been daylight. daytime? It I remember my wrists my wrists were tore up after that, too. Yeah, it very well could have been. Cuz the body worn camera shuts off, you know, at a certain point cuz he's in the back of the car. that's before the time change. So, even at 0500 it would be lighter. Sun's coming up. Yeah, it'd be lighter. Yeah. Um, okay. Um, I think now would be a good time to take a quick break. We're good. Yeah. Um, I'd like to just take a short one if that's okay. Um, we're going to go off recording. I'm going to stop at 15:57 hours.