A Goodyear-commissioned inquiry into the city Police Department found that two officers covered up the involvement of a colleague in a fatal hit-and-run and that the police chief failed to do anything about it.

The report by Phoenix-based attorney Paul Charlton that was released Thursday found no overall conspiracy to cover up the incident but noted that officers acted individually to "protect one of their own" by hindering and obstructing the investigation and that there was a lack of leadership.

Read the report

Charlton didn't focus on whether Officer Brad Hardin killed Jered Pendleton in April 2008 but rather on the alleged subsequent cover-up of his involvement. The report prompted Police Chief Mark Brown to retire abruptly Wednesday - six months sooner than he had previously announced.

The report cited a litany of failures in leadership and how the investigation was conducted:

-�Didn't properly investigate Hardin's involvement. The officer's actions "led to a delay in the seizure of Off. Hardin's vehicle and its subsequent testing for evidence of a pedestrian collision."

-�Didn't turn over the investigation to an outside agency. "When additional pieces of evidence were discovered . . . all doubt should have been removed that an outside agency was needed to avoid an appearance of impropriety."

-�Failed to discipline officers. "Failure to discipline in a situation such as this can, at worst, be seen as implicit approval . . . and at best, as apathetic."

On Thursday, City Manager John Fischbach expressed disappointment, calling it a series of poor decisions.

"There were critical decision points and at those points, decisions were made that were not appropriate," said Fischbach, who appointed Cmdr. Bill Cusson as interim police chief.

Pendleton, 18, was found lying dead on Yuma Road east of Bullard Avenue about 4:30 a.m. April 6, 2008, one day after his birthday.

Hardin, who drove through the scene while on duty moments before the body was found, faced accusations from Pendleton's mother and Terri Woodmansee, a former police-victim advocate who worked on the case, that he was responsible for Pendleton's death and other Goodyear officers helped cover it up.

But a Goodyear police investigation concluded that someone else struck and killed Pendleton. The case remains unsolved.

The report commended Hardin's conduct in the wake of Pendleton's death, which "speaks highly of his character and integrity."

Hardin immediately notified a supervisor when he suspected he may have hit Pendleton, cooperated with superiors as they investigated his suspicions and documented his involvement in the police report, the report states.

Charlton's report identified several "anomalies:"

-�Sgt. Deron Miller failed to immediately impound Hardin's car as evidence after Hardin said he thought he may have struck Pendleton, and did not inform the investigating officers of Hardin's possible involvement.

-�Detective Anna Ybarra later called Hardin to warn him that officers were en route to seize his vehicle. The report recommended that an outside agency investigate whether Ybarra committed a crime.

-�Cmdr. Ralph McLaughlin and Police Chief Mark Brown failed to ensure the investigation was transferred to an outside agency, and didn't discipline Miller.

"We find that for these reasons, Cmdr. McLaughlin and Chief Brown demonstrated poor leadership," the report states. "The ultimate responsibility for this failure in leadership lies with Chief Brown."

Cusson will review the report, appropriately discipline all officers identified, and open any additional internal investigations necessary, city officials said.

Shay Pendleton, Jered Pendleton's mother, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city in August 2009, alleging Hardin struck and killed her son and police covered it up. Her attorney couldn't be reached for comment late Thursday.

Woodmansee filed a wrongful-termination lawsuit against the city in May 2009. She claimed she was fired for whistle-blowing after reporting her concerns of a cover-up to a colleague at the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. The department said she was spreading rumors and lying about it.

Fischbach would not say how the report might be used in the lawsuits because litigation is pending.