Did A Tucson PD Commander Commit A Domestic Violence Felony?
The Lowdown...
On July 20, 2024, officers from the Tucson Police Department and deputies from the Pima County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Carondelet Marana Hospital reference a potential stabbing that was being worked by personnel from the Tucson Police Department.
The incident was documented under Tucson PD’s case number P2407200097 and the Pima County Sheriff’s Office case number 240720147. Both of these case reports are posted below and I invite you, my dear reader, to review them for yourself.
A female victim had entered the facility with extensive facial injuries.
The Tucson Police Department report documented the following: The officer was advised by medical staff (regarding the victim) "She was assaulted just after midnight this morning at Speedway and Silverbell and she knows who did it.”
“Krishna had approximately 50 stitches to her face with three significant slash wounds to her face. Both of her eyes were bruised and swollen along with her lip. Her right hand had significant swelling and was black and blue as well. Both of her arms had bruising consistent with being in some sort of physical altercation.”
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office reported the following: “I observed lacerations which had already been medically treated and appeared to have received stitches on Krishna’s forehead. The lacerations were vertical directly above the inside area of Krishna’s left eyebrow. There was also a horizontal laceration directly above that one, which was angled from more of the top left part of her forehead down to above her left eyebrow. There was also a laceration above her right eyebrow, which essentially looked to be in the shape of an L. I also observed to be what appeared to have been a laceration on the bottom of Krishna’s chin. She also had two black eyes as well as various other bruising on her chin and face, along with some scratch marks and redness, consistent with injuries more than likely sustained during some sort of physical altercation. Some of the scratch marks possibly could’ve been dried blood as a result of her injuries; however, I was unable to tell exactly.”
The victim in this incident, the wife of a Tucson Police Department Lieutenant, refused to cooperate with the investigation. She refused to say who brutally assaulted her and referred to the attack as a “private family matter.”
The PCSO deputies followed the victim to her home. They cleared the house and found blood in the master bedroom and bathroom. One may say they found a scene. A warrant was NOT served on the house.
Lieutenant Alisa Cunningham, an active duty commander with the Tucson Police Department, is listed as the one and only suspect in this violent felony.
Detectives who were assigned this case served a search warrant on Lt. Cunningham’s personal cell phone, her Tucson Police Department issued cell phone, as well as the Ring Doorbell/ camera footage from the residence where this attack occurred.
As of April 2025, there has been NO UPDATES in this investigations and it has now been CLOSED by the Pima County Sheriff's Office.
What you just read are the facts of the case, and they are not disputed by anyone.
Let's Get Started...
While using a new found abundance of free time, I decided to dig into this caper that's been on one of my back burners for quite a while...Buckle up!! This is a good one!!
For the first time in all of my investigations into Tucson's corrupt leadership, I really want to be wrong on this one! I would hate to think that...
1. A Tucson PD Commander would commit such a violent felony.
2. The Pima County Sheriff's Office/ Domestic Violence Unit would do such a half-assed investigation that involved a police commander and with the victim being the spouse of a law enforcement officer.
3. The Tucson PD Office of "Professional" Standards (Rat Squad) did nothing about this.
Here we go! In or around August 2024, I was asked by several people if I knew anything about a commander who was in "DV trouble." I had also heard that a Tucson PD commander was "pulled off an airplane by Pima County Sheriff Deputies." None of the rumors turned out to be accurate but there was that sliver of possible legitimacy that compelled me to reach out. I talked to a guy who knew a guy who worked with another guy who looked into it. He confirmed the fact that a Tucson PD Lieutenant was involved in a domestic violence incident...maybe. The lieutenant's wife was brutally assaulted. Legend has it the victim was not cooperative with investigators.
We are deeply grateful for "Cobra's" information.
I reviewed all the information I had and I ran it by the Morkens. I then took what they gave me and I made my public record request through the PCSO Records Section. The Morken's information was "spot on" according to the records specialist.
After receiving the case report, supplements, scene photos, and BWC footage (in a surprisingly short amount of time), I made a public record request for the lieutenant's rat squad history sheet and the Tucson PD case report that also documented this incident. **This brutal attack was initially believed to have occurred in the city limits of Tucson.
After reading the PCSO case report, I believed that everyone was working diligently to get to the bottom of this felonious attack.
**I later found out that I was very wrong**
I've said many times that law enforcement (in most cases) is simple math. Problems occur when the "smart" people start trying to introduce calculus and physics to solve our simple math problem. I broke it down like this (this will make more sense when you read the reports), she either did it or she didn't. One of the "alibis" used by the lieutenant was that she was in Boston for SMIT (Senior Management Institute for Policing). I decided to check with the TSA to see if she flew from Massachusetts to Arizona within a day or so of the brutal attack. The results were disappointing (see TSA's response below).
I'll get deeper into my "she either did it or she didn't" theory a little later.
Then I waited...
The TSA Would Not Tell Me When The LT Last Flew On A Plane!
The Start Of MY Investigation
Doesn't Look Like It But They Totally Knew About It!
The Tucson PD report documents the fact that Sergeant Santa Maria #49996, who has since been assigned to Tucson PD's Rat Squad, was briefed on this incident and other Tucson PD Commanders were advised to include, the lieutenant suspect's supervisor, Captain Pickrom. Even if it was an investigation to clear the lieutenant suspect's name, how the hell was this not investigated by Tucson PD's rat squad??
She Either Did It Or She Didn't Do It...
Let's Say She Did NOT Do It...
The Pima County Sheriff's Office/ Domestic Violence Squad listed Tucson Police Lieutenant Cunningham as the only suspect in a violent felony: Domestic Violence/ Aggravated Assault.
As you can read in the PCSO reports and supplements, a search warrant was applied for and executed reference this investigation (Warrant #24SW1626). The warrant was for Lt. Cunningham's personal cell phone, her department issued cell phone, and the Ring Doorbell camera footage. I recently spoke with Sergeant Wren form PCSO's DV Unit, I asked her about the results of the search warrant. She referred me to PCSO's Record Section and she advised me that this investigation is closed (I'll post the email exchange soon). I then checked with the PCSO Record Section and I was advised that there WERE updates in this case. All I had to do was swing by their office and I would be provided with the updated documents. I began driving there almost immediately. I got about 5 minutes into the drive when I received a call from the PCSO records clerk who advised me that he misspoke and there were actually NO UPDATES in this investigation. I pointed out that a search warrant was executed and there were no supplements indicating what was found. I also noticed that there were no closing supplements for this investigation. I was advised that he could not share any more information with me.
So follow me here, you have a violent felony where the victim was married to a Tucson Police Lieutenant. The victim's injuries were severe and required 50 stiches to her face (there were other injuries/ the description is in both case reports). The Pima County Sheriff's Office/ DV Unit could not list what was found as a result of their search warrant. Even though the victim refused to cooperate with this investigation, she still has the right to change her mind about cooperating with investigators. The way that this currently stands is PCSO Detectives left an active duty Tucson PD commander as the only suspect in a brutal attack. I would hope that this investigation would be handled in a more professional manner. Again, assuming she did NOT do it, these investigators could see if her phone was pinging in Tucson at the time of the attack. They could also do what I tried to do and contact TSA to see if the suspect flew to Tucson or Phoenix around the time of the attack. I have have a sneaky suspicion they would have more success than I did. It's ALMOST like they don't want to clear the lieutenant's name!
Let's Say She DID Do It...
One thing you can definitely tell by reading the reports and supplements and watching the body worn camera footage, the victim didn't want anything to do with cooperating with this investigation. Sadly, this is common among DV victims. Since many of these domestic violence incidents could be better handled by calling 1-800-GO-U-HAUL than 911, you probably won't find a lot of cops who are losing sleep over a victim who refuses to be helped out of an abusive relationship. People break up every day!
What I'm getting at here is even though this will not be a criminally prosecuted case, police personnel still have to do their jobs. As I stated earlier, the victim may not be currently cooperating but that victim may change her mind. In that case, the investigating department would look a lot less stupid if the investigators took their investigations as far as they could despite the lack of cooperation from the victim. Also, as in many DV investigations, that evidence may be useful if the abuser finally kills the victim.
It was clear to TPD and PCSO investigators very early on that the suspect was a Tucson PD commander. We are aware of two commanders who were advised of the incident and NOBODY advised the rat squad??? Or, was the rat squad notified and they decided not to look into this???
It should also be noted that two officers were involved in MISDEMEANOR DV incidents on the eastside alone. BOTH were arrested and the rat squad served a search warrant on one of the guy's residence! Remember, FAIRNESS is a Tucson PD core value!
Everyone who has gone through a police academy has been told that as a police officer, you have lost your right to have a "normal" life. People make mistakes and get arrested every day and nobody knows, nobody cares. A police officer's mistakes can quickly become front page news for weeks or months. Even if the officer is able to "beat" the criminal case, they are still likely looking at an administrative investigation. In an administrative investigation, you are not allowed to refuse to answer questions, MOST officers will be fired for untruthfulness if they lie (Read "Sex In A Patrol Car Is A-OK" on this website for details). The Tucson PD rat squad should be investigating this incident as an "off-duty felony." While the suspect won't be looking at criminal charges, she will likely be facing termination from the department, a revocation of her AZ POST certification, and possibly the revoking of her pension. OR they may find that the lieutenant's phones were pinging in Massachusetts and she will be cleared from any suspicion and I will be offering an apology.
We'll just have to wait and see what happens here...
**Stay tuned, we are far from finished!
The Initial Post From November 2024
Let me start off by saying this one is weird!
As I watched the body worn camera footage from the deputies and detectives, as I looked at the scene photos (the ones that were not redacted), and as I read all of the police reports from the Pima County Sheriff’s Office and the Tucson Police Department, I could not help but to think about what I would do if I were in this situation.
I hate to even think about it but if I were notified of the brutal assault of my better half, the first thing I would do is call the police so they could find out who did it. It would be dangerously close to impossible but I would allow the officers or deputies hunt this person down and bring them to justice. This would be difficult because my instincts would be to find the coward who committed this assault and beat them to a bloody mess. I would consider it a failure on my part if my wife’s attacker did not need an emergency room visit on their way to jail.
The LAST thing I would do is refer to this brutal, albeit hypothetical, assault as a private matter or a family matter.
**This rant will make more sense when we post the reports, photos, and body worn camera footage.**
Let's get started...
This incident involves the spouse of a Tucson PD commander who was the victim of aggravated assault. The victim suffered a laceration on her forehead that required 50 stitches to close! The victim refused to talk to sheriff's deputies and she refused to talk to Tucson Police Officers who responded to the hospital. So who did it????
Again, this one is weird. I have the report completed by deputies and detectives from the Pima County Sheriff's Office, I have the crime scene photos (that are mostly redacted), and I have the body worn camera footage for the deputies and the detectives who investigated this incident. I also have the police report from the Tucson Police Department which is not much different from the PCSO report.
After reading these reports and reviewing the body worn camera footage, I am left with a ton of questions. Until I get a little more information, I wont be dropping the names of the people involved but I will advise you of where we are so far.
Here's what we know...
On 7/20/2024, personnel from the Tucson Police Department and the Pima County Sheriff's Office responded to a hospital in the county reference the assault of the wife of a Tucson PD Lieutenant. The victim told medical staff she "was assaulted just after midnight this morning at Speedway and Silverbell and she knows who did it."
The victim's injuries were extensive and included
- a laceration on her forehead that required 50 stitches to close
- 3 "significant slash wounds to her face"
- "both of her eyes were bruised and swollen along with her lip"
- "her right hand had significant swelling and was black and blue as well."
- "both of her arms had significant bruising consistent with a physical altercation."
Personnel from the PCSO followed up at the victim's residence and located blood on the bed and on the bathroom floor. Some people in law enforcement would call that the "scene." Normally, when a scene is discovered it is locked down and detectives are called and the scene is investigated. If necessary, a warrant is requested/ served. That did not happen here. Again, the victim was uncooperative but it is unclear why a warrant was not called in to properly investigate this felony crime.
The report prepared by PCSO deputies have an active duty lieutenant with the Tucson Police Department listed as the one and only suspect. The victim in this case is absolutely set on not cooperating with the investigation and she is well within her rights to do that on the criminal side. But what about the administrative side? Doesn't the Tucson Police Department have the obligation to investigate this lieutenant for the "off-duty felony" that was committed? I believe they do. The Office of “Professional” Standards is NOT known for being fair even though “Fairness” is a core value of the Tucson Police Department. Please compare what you just read to these little nuggets…
-A Tucson Police Officer got into an argument with his live-in girlfriend, who was also a Tucson Police Officer. Out of frustration, the male officer punched a hole in his own wall. The girlfriend contacted her sergeant who called the Office of “Professional” Standards. The Rat Squad sprung into action and served a search warrant on the male officer’s house. Ultimately, he was arrested for misdemeanor domestic violence charges.
-An executive level commander was dry-firing in her home and had an accidental/ negligent discharge. The round went through her wall and through the exterior wall of the next door neighbor’s house. Fortunately, the house next door was vacant.
*Let’s stop right here. We are not bringing this up to shame anyone. We are bringing this up to show the difference in how investigations headed up by Tucson PD’s Rat Squad are handled depending on who is involved. Accidental discharges can and do happen to many, many people who are rock solid cops.
*Steps off soap box…
The Tucson PD Rat Squad jumped into action and responded to the commander’s house in Marana. They began their internal/ administrative investigation. When personnel from the Marana Police Department showed to investigate this incident, which at the time, was a criminal investigation, Marana PD cops were told by a Tucson PD captain that they were almost done with their administrative investigation and the Marana PD personnel could start when the Rat Squad was done.
I will take a minute to criticize the way this was handled by pointing out that it took over an hour to confirm that no one was struck by the round fired into the neighbor’s house. Yes, the house was vacant, but was there a contractor or a realtor working in the house at that time? No, there was not. That was confirmed…an hour later.
So, I'll repeat my question, why wasn’t a warrant served on this crime scene involving felony aggravated assault (potentially domestic violence)?
Here's another thing I found to be...curious? I requested the history sheet from the Office of "Professional" Standards for this Tucson PD lieutenant on August 4, 2024. As of Today (November 14, 2024), my request has not been fulfilled. I have followed up with a text message to OPS on November 4, 2024 and I emailed a couple people with OPS and the ELT on November 10, 2024. We're still waiting...
**UPDATE**
On November 14, 2024 (RIGHT AFTER the post above was written), we received the OPS history sheet for the lieutenant. The latest discipline was 10 years ago, almost to the day.
Let's take a look at that for a sec. I know a guy who was a Tucson PD officer in 2006. This officer was circulating in the area for a burglary suspect when he came across a tweaker on a bike. The tweaker had no ID and he had a difficult time keeping track of his fake names and dates of birth. This officer put the tweaker in handcuffs. This obviously upset said tweaker and he began to thrash around. The officer put the tweaker on the hood and allowed him to think about his actions. The tweaker claimed the officer had injured his shoulder. Being a tweaker, he was able to wiggle his shirt to the side to expose what appeared to be a seriously injured shoulder. The Tweaker was transported to a medical facility where the doctor took one look at the tweaker and said "what's his problem?" The officer explained that the tweaker had an injured shoulder and the officer showed the shoulder to the doctor. The doctor, thoroughly unimpressed, told the officer that the tweaker's shoulder "always looks like that." The doctor explained to the officer that the shoulder was deformed, not injured. The doctor then said, "get him out of here, what do you want me to sign?" The tweaker was then transported for the multiple charges to include a parole revocation warrant issued by the Arizona Department of Corrections.
What the hell is the point you ask? If you look at that officer's OPS sheet, you'll see an entry for an "On Duty Felony." OPS looked into this little incident even though there was NO COMPLAINT made by anyone and there was NO INJURY to the tweaker. Unfortunately for this officer, the incident you just read about occurred between two other incidents investigated by the Rat Squad. So here we are, almost 20 years later, and that officer still has an "On Duty Felony" on his OPS history despite the fact that there was literally nothing to it.
My question is, if the detectives from PCSO have officially listed this lieutenant as a "SUSPECT" in a domestic violence aggravated assault investigation, the alibi the lieutenant provided did NOT hold up, and her chain of command was aware of the investigation from the beginning, how is this investigation NOT on her OPS history sheet??? Is it because the investigation is on going? Is it because this investigation is going to be changed from criminal to administrative?
I wish I knew. What I can tell you, wish absolute certainty, is when a member of the Tucson Police Department is the suspect in a felony investigation, that member will be placed on "imposed leave." Their firearms, department issued IDs, and badges, will be taken from the member, sometimes it will happen in their own kitchen, in front of their spouse and children, less than a month before Christmas. I wonder what is different about this one...
I will stay on top of this one because it sounds like there is an attempt to sweep this under the rug.
When I know, you'll know. As always, I appreciate you stopping by!
-Mr. James Voss