Safford Police Respond to 193 Calls, Including Pursuit, Assaults and DUI Investigation
The Safford Police Department handled 193 reported incidents between 6 a.m. Aug. 27 and 6 a.m. Sept. 1, according to the department’s latest Law Incident Media Summary Report. The five-day report includes numerous traffic stops and school patrols, along with domestic-violence calls, thefts, drug-related incidents, medical emergencies, a pursuit and other investigations.
One of the most significant incidents occurred during the early morning hours of Aug. 29 when officers pursued an orange side-by-side that traveled through cotton fields and into the riverbed. Officers deployed spike strips on First Avenue, but the vehicle continued toward Farm Road. A drone was used to help officers search the area, and officers eventually believed the vehicle had become stuck in sand with a blown tire. The report later describes officers continuing to search the area and hearing the vehicle’s engine.
Another serious incident occurred Aug. 29 when police responded to a report of a fight near a bank. A woman reported that she had fallen and broken her arm during the altercation and said a knife had been involved. The other person was located nearby and told officers she was not injured and wanted the woman to stay away from her.
Police also investigated a vehicle reported stolen Aug. 29. The report states that a 2018 black Jeep Cherokee had been taken within approximately 20 minutes of the call. The reporting party identified her brother as the suspected person involved and told officers he might be under the influence of drugs. The vehicle was subsequently returned.
Domestic-related calls were also prominent. On Aug. 30, officers responded to an incident that initially appeared to be a motor-vehicle accident involving an eight-month-pregnant woman. The woman was conscious and experiencing cramping after the vehicle stopped, while the male driver reportedly fled on foot. Officers later determined the incident was a domestic-violence case rather than an accident.
Another domestic-related call involved a woman who had recently undergone heart surgery and reported that her son would not leave her home. She told officers that his yelling was causing her chest pain. Officers were advised there were no weapons, drugs or alcohol involved.
On Aug. 31, officers conducted a welfare check after a report that a person had returned from a father’s residence with multiple bruises. The incident was listed as a welfare check and remained active in the report.
Police also responded to a medical emergency early Aug. 31 involving a 31-year-old man who was initially reported not breathing. CPR had been started, but officers later received word that the man was awake and talking.
Drug-related calls included a controlled-substance investigation on Aug. 27 that was changed from a traffic stop to a drug case, as well as another controlled-substance call during the early morning hours of Aug. 29.
Other notable calls included a reported shoplifting attempt involving multiple people, criminal damage to a vehicle at Walmart, a threatening-text investigation, reports of a person apparently stalking a resident with a drone, and numerous traffic-related incidents.
The reporting period ended with a DUI investigation late Aug. 31. A traffic stop was changed to a DUI call at approximately 9:53 p.m., followed by a blood draw and a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) investigation.
The report reflects activity from Aug. 27 through Sept. 1 and includes 193 incidents handled by Safford Police during the reporting period.
