Megan Cassidy

The Republic | azcentral.com

Maricopa County sheriff's Deputy Sean Pearce will not be held criminally responsible in the death of Glendale resident John Edward Harding, despite traveling more than twice the speed limit moments before the fatal crash.

County Attorney Bill Montgomery delivered the long-awaited announcement Wednesday morning, saying he weighed the specific circumstances of the crash, which occurred while Pearce was on duty.

Harding's family and others on Wednesday asserted that the decision not to prosecute Pearce was motivated by law-enforcement favoritism or political back-scratching.

On Dec. 16, Pearce was driving northbound on 59th Avenue when he struck Harding's Nissan Cube as it was turning left onto 59th Avenue from Hayward Avenue, according to Glendale police, who investigated the crash.

Pearce was driving 81 miles per hour in the 40-miles-per hour zone just seconds before impact, according to the police report.

His unmarked vehicle was not equipped with lights or a siren, which are required if an officer or deputy is to break any traffic laws, said Harry Ryon, a former sergeant and 24-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department who specialized in traffic enforcement collision reconstruction.

Pearce said he was working with homicide detectives and had been assisting in the apprehension of a suspect, according to police records. Harding died at a hospital shortly after the crash.

Glendale police recommended a charge of manslaughter when they submitted their report to the County Attorney's Office in March.

Factors considered

Montgomery told reporters he based his decision on a number of factors, taking into account the lines of sight as well as the nature of Pearce's law-enforcement operation at the time.

"The fact that the MCSO deputy was en route to assisting what he was told was a homicide suspect that was on the move, who was to be taken into custody, was an important factor," he said.

Montgomery said he's watched the video of the crash "dozens" of times, and found that, given the positioning of the vehicles, a third vehicle had obstructed the vision for both drivers at the moment when either may have become aware of the other.

He said it should not be assumed that a similar situation would result in the same decision.

"Nor does this give law enforcement license to speed anywhere at any time, under any circumstances," he said.

Family's concern

Marc Victor, a Chandler-based defense attorney who is representing Harding's family in a civil case, said his clients received a brief phone call Wednesday morning advising them of the decision.

"They're very disappointed," he said. "(The family is) inclined to believe that this happened because of bias or favoritism between Bill Montgomery and Russell Pearce."

Russell Pearce, former Arizona Senate president, backed Montgomery in his 2010 bid for county attorney and is Sean's father.

Others say Pearce's status as a sheriff's deputy may have been a factor.

"Police officers are given the benefit of the doubt to start with," said Arizona defense attorney Russ Richelsoph. "If you or I was going 40 miles per hour over the limit and we got in a crash and somebody died, you or I would be sitting in a jail cell."

Montgomery vehemently denied that the decision was based on external influences.

"To the extent that anyone would try to say that there was any political motivation or incentive to reaching this decision, that's an amateur analysis and extremely shortsighted," he said.

Questions raised

Sheriff Joe Arpaio said he supports Montgomery's decision and said he's confident that the county attorney reviewed all of the facts.

Arpaio said Pearce is still on regular duty, but that his office is reviewing the matter to determine whether Pearce acted outside of policy or if disciplinary actions are warranted.

"Sean has been a dedicated deputy for 20 years, and that's about all I'm going to say about the situation," he said, citing pending civil actions.

Harding's family recently filed a $5million notice of claim against Pearce and the Sheriff's Office, which Montgomery said he believes is a more appropriate way to resolve the matter.

Victor questions why the charging decision remained under the discretion of Montgomery's office. Allowing the choice to be made by a grand jury or another county attorney's office would have eliminated even the appearance of impropriety, he said.

"The fact that it wasn't presented to a grand jury is very concerning to me," he said. "That is the function of a grand jury."

Victor said he recently took over the civil case and expects it to go to trial.

"I have trouble understanding why not even negligent homicide," he said. "No lights, no siren, big vehicle. Seems like pretty outrageous conduct to me."