Phoenix Cop Arrested for Sexually Exploiting a Minor

Hours after Phoenix police Officer Richard Tucker was released from jail for a domestic-violence charge against his wife, he was arrested again and booked into jail on eight counts of alleged sexual exploitation of a minor over whom he had partial custody, police say. The timeline of events is a…

Sister Still Haunted by Mikelle Biggs’ 1999 Mesa Abduction

It was January 2, 1999, and 9-year-old Kimber Biggs and her 11-year-old sister were playing in the street in their Mesa neighborhood while waiting for the ice-cream truck. After a while, Kimber got cold and went inside for her jacket; her sister stayed to wait, clutching the quarters she got…

Joe Arpaio’s Cloak-and-Dagger “Seattle Operation” Files Released

A Montana billionaire secreting thumb drives of sensitive info through airport security in his socks. Handwritten receipts for cash payments to MCSO confidential informant # 1437, aka, Dennis Montgomery, whose e-mail alias, “David Webb,” is also fictional super-spy Jason Bourne’s birth-name. And multiple timelines’ tying together former Phoenix Mayor Phil…

More Than Half of Arizonans Support Right-to-Die Laws, Poll Finds

Do terminally ill individuals have the right to end their own lives? Should it be legal for doctors to help facilitate the process? According to a new poll from the Phoenix-based Behavior Research Center, 56 percent of Arizonans think so. Researchers asked Arizonans if they would “favor or oppose a…

ASU Police Now Wearing Body Cameras

In a move designed to increase transparency, accountability, and civilian-officer relations, officers with the Arizona State University Police Department now wear body cameras as part of their uniform. ASU purchased 80 cameras that weigh only 3.5 ounces and can record up to 9.5 hours of audio and visual footage. The…

Anonymous “Million Mask March” Draws Crowd in Phoenix

Masked protesters marched up and down Camelback Road waving shredded American flags, shouting expletives, and flipping off passing drivers as part of a worldwide show of discontent organized by hacktivist collective Anonymous. Phoenix authorities warned nearby businesses of possible violence and a squad of bicycle-mounted police officers hovered nearby, but…

Protesting Midwives Group Sues Arizona Department of Health

Standing on the sidewalk outside the Arizona Department of Health Services building in Phoenix, midwife Wendi Cleckner addressed the crowd of about 200 men and women—many cradling babies or holding protest signs. “What we want is safe birth in Arizona,” said Cleckner, president of the Arizona Association of Midwives, which…