“What happened, as we presented in the Loudermill presentation, is that he actually was assaulted, then asked to have those individuals who assaulted him dealt with,” Serbalik said in court. “He was told to go back into the crowd, and at that point, based out of frustration, he says, ‘Well, this is my plan.’”
Serbalik said the video did not show Mullen encouraging anyone to attack him. Brnovich appeared to agree with that part of Mullen’s argument.
In her order, she wrote that the video presented to her in court did not show Mullen instigating or provoking students to assault him.
She wrote that Mullen appeared to make the statement out of frustration after Chandler officers made minimal effort to intervene when students surrounded, followed, yelled at him and threw water on him.
“This is buttressed by the fact that Sgt. Mullen never encouraged any students to assault him,” Brnovich wrote.
Phoenix argued firing was justified
The city argued in court that Mullen’s firing was justified because his conduct damaged public trust and created concerns for law enforcement operations.
Stephen Coleman, an attorney for Phoenix, told the judge the case was not a routine request to preserve the status quo because Mullen was asking the court to order him reinstated and placed on taxpayer-funded paid leave while the case continues.
Coleman said Mullen’s conduct had led to “a cascade of negative publicity” and raised questions for people who want to protest peacefully.
“They’re probably wondering, if the police show up, are they here to protect me or are they gonna trap me?” Coleman said.