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Dibor Roberts did not ignore officer

Sheriff's statements contradict officer's report

Sedona, AZ - At Sheriff Waugh's press conference on January 17, he said he was holding the press conference to present information on the Dibor Roberts case that the public was not getting in the press and in letters. In fact, he gave information that contradicts what the arresting officer's report says and which makes it seem that the Sheriff is protecting his department more than the citizens he is charged with protecting.

At the press conference the Sheriff said the officer was in a 2006 Ford Explorer, well marked. He said the officer pulled alongside Dibor Roberts and she never looked over and acknowledged him. The arresting officer, Sgt Jeff Newnum's report states that "While traveling West on Cornville Rd with my lights and siren on I pulled alongside the Nissan with my lights and siren activated and noticed the driver of the vehicle look to their left." He further states, "I slowed my patrol vehicle and again came in behind the Nissan. At this point I could see the driver appeared to be yelling at me through the window."

The Sheriff said that often those on drugs or alcohol ignore the officers hoping they will go away. The Sgt said in his report "Because the driving of the Nissan did not appear to be erratic, I passed the Nissan on the left and got directly in front of the vehicle traveling at 50 to 55 mph.” It seems that the officer determined that Mrs. Roberts was not driving erratically and therefore was probably not impaired – which is why he risked getting in front of her to make the stop.

The Sheriff said she refused to pull over and the officer followed her for 2-3 miles. He made a second try to get her attention and she ignored him. The Sgt's report says he stopped her at mile post 6 on Cornville Rd. That's just 2 miles down from the Beaverhead Flats/Cornville Rd intersection and just one mile away from the lighted Page Springs Rd area. When asked how far away the lighted area was, the Sheriff said maybe 10 miles!

The Sheriff said Newnum pulled in front of her blocking her path. He exited the vehicle and positioned himself in the highway. He also said it was not normal practice to pull in front. The Sgt's report says “I continued to order the driver of the vehicle to open the door and exit the vehicle (at gunpoint), and she continued to yell something inaudible. …..I noticed the female driver was not going to comply with my commands.”

The Sheriff, at his press conference, kept saying that Mrs. Roberts did not make an effort to communicate – yet she clearly was still trying to communicate as the officer followed her and again when she was stopped.

The Sheriff said that, in pursuit, officers try to make the stop before getting to a populated area.

The Sgt's report says ”I placed my Ford Expedition directly in front of the Nissan in an attempt to end the pursuit before coming into a populated area such as Cornville.” Cornville populated? At 11PM at night? Lighted maybe, but not populated.

The Sheriff said there was an individual parked on the hwy talking on his cell phone. He said this person witnessed the window being broken out. The witness interview report, however, says he saw glass on the street when he got to the scene which suggests the window was already broken out when he got there.

The Sheriff said there was no indication she thought the officer was an impostor. Yet the Sgt's report says she said to him “I was trying to see if your badge is real.”

The Sheriff said the witness testified at the hearing. In fact, the witness gave a deposition separately, but did not testify at the hearing.

When asked during the Q&A if Mrs. Roberts made any attempt to communicate, the Sheriff insisted she did not. Yet the Sgt's report documents several places where he saw that she was communicating with him - he saw her look to the left when he pulled alongside her, when he pulled behind her he saw her yelling something at him, and when he stopped her he saw her yelling at him through the window. Unfortunately for everyone, the officer escalated the incident into high drama at the expense of a nursing student on her way home from work.

It's time to drop the charges against Dibor Roberts, establish a policy for making traffic stops in dark areas, and be specific about what signal a woman can give to an officer to let him know she acknowledges him and is going to a lighted area. It could be as simple as putting on the hazard lights.