For a tiny police department, Globe has big problems.

A small mining town about an hour and a half east of Phoenix, Globe is home to about 7,000 people. Twenty-six people work for the Globe Police Department, and with so few employees and so many misconduct investigations, the department's legacy of problem police officers far exceeds its size.

A Phoenix New Times review of Globe's history — prompted by the resignations of two police chiefs last year, one of whom is now suing the city — found that in the past five years, at least two ex-Globe officers have been banned from working in law enforcement in Arizona, two additional officers have been ousted following accusations of domestic violence and sexual assault, and two of the department's newest hires both have had their peace officer certifications suspended for misconduct prior to joining the department.

The department's newest chief, Dale Walters, is trying to turn that all around. Walters comes to Globe with nearly three decades in law enforcement under his belt, most recently as the assistant chief of Chandler Police. On his first day as chief, Walters placed ex-Globe Chief Robert Folker under internal investigation following accusations of misconduct that would eventually lead to the ouster of Folker and his ex-lieutenant.

"We addressed some of the pending issues that were facing the department when I immediately got here," Walters told New Times. "I understand the importance of proper policies and procedures and training, and we're working on establishing standards and policies."

Troubled Past

In 2014, officer John Rittenbach relinquished his peace officer certification after the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board determined he had been dishonest during the application process. Globe cop Braxton Bittner gave up his certification the following year, in 2015.

According to POST records, Bittner filed a false report when he claimed his patrol vehicle was damaged in a hit-and-run when it had, in fact, been damaged when he backed up into a post on private property. He then lied to his supervisor about the incident. The lie got so out of hand that in an attempt to cover up how he had damaged his patrol vehicle, Bittner wrongfully arrested someone, then asked dispatch to delete records of the stop.

Two years later, in November 2017, ABC15 (KNXV-TV) reported that Globe had launched an investigation into dozens of closed cases that were not properly investigated. Most of the cases belonged to former Globe detective Sergeant James Durnan, according to ABC15.

Asked about the cases Durnan allegedly failed to investigate, Globe City Manager Paul Jepson said only, "Globe did in fact investigate and resolve a number of cold cases at that time. The City never named or investigated any officers, past or present, as being involved in the cold cases."

Durnan left Globe in 2017 to work for the neighboring Miami Police Department, but he has since retired and no longer works for the department, a spokesperson for the city said.

Not long after, on March 1, 2018, Globe Police Chief Mark Nipp resigned amid reports that two Globe cops were under internal investigations. Nipp cited "philosophical differences" with the city over his goals for the police department as his reason for leaving.

Sergeant Abraham Castaneda and Officer Gabriel Guerrero were placed on administrative leave while investigations into alleged misconduct were underway, ABC15 reported.

Jepson told New Times that Castaneda was cleared of any wrongdoing and has since been promoted to commander. Castaneda had been accused of improperly accessing the criminal records database used by the city. Ultimately, investigators determined Castaneda had not wrongfully accessed any protected records, the Globe city manager told New Times.

Guerrero, meanwhile, was fired. He had been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in December 2016, New Times has learned.

In early 2018, a woman contacted Globe police and said that Guerrero had sexually assaulted her, AZPOST compliance specialist Lori Wait said at a January 2019 board meeting.

According to the woman, she and Guerrero had been friends and had a sexual relationship for over two decades. But on that day in December, she explicitly told Guerrero she did not want to have sex with him and said no repeatedly both before and during the encounter, the woman said, according to Wait.

When Guerrero was asked by internal investigators whether the woman had told him no during any of their sexual encounters over the past 20 years or on that day in December 2016, Guerrero initially said no. But, Wait said, Guerrero eventually conceded during the interview that she had, in fact, told him no.

Guerrero was terminated from Globe — but, the city manager says, Guerrero was fired not for an alleged sexual assault, but for lying. And the woman's assault was never criminally investigated.

"Based on the results of an internal investigation that coincided with his admin leave, Sergeant Guerrero was terminated," Jepson told New Times. "Guerrero was investigated administratively for a past accusation of sexual assault. While certain allegations were not sustained, he was found to be dishonest as part of the investigation and terminated by the city of Globe on that basis. Globe never investigated this criminally, and we are unaware of any other criminal investigations related to this."

AZPOST has initiated proceedings to consider revoking or suspending Guerrero's peace officer certification.