{"id":555212,"date":"2026-01-31T01:46:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T01:46:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/555212\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T01:46:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T01:46:21","slug":"ex-goodyear-cop-punished-for-locking-neglectful-dad-in-hot-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/555212\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Goodyear cop punished for locking neglectful dad in hot car"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tFormer Goodyear police officer Justin Gaspar.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Morgan Fischer<\/p>\n

On a hot summer day in June 2024, ex-Goodyear police officer Justin Gaspar decided to give a suspect a taste of his own medicine. The man ended up in the hospital.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Amid one of Phoenix\u2019s hottest summers on record, Gaspar came across an arguing couple whose children had been locked in the car for 15 minutes, even though the temperature reportedly reached about 110 degrees inside the vehicle. Gaspar arrested the father for endangerment after the man refused to provide his keys to let his 4- and 9-year-old children out of the car.<\/p>\n

After the arrest, the man\u2019s children were transferred to Phoenix Children\u2019s Hospital. As for the father, Gaspar had another treatment in mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The cop placed the man in the prisoner compartment in the back of his patrol vehicle for a 15-minute drive to Goodyear\u2019s jail. Gaspar turned off the air conditioning for the prisoner compartment and closed his vehicle\u2019s partition, eliminating the man\u2019s access to air conditioning. When they arrived at the jail, Gaspar was informed that it couldn\u2019t accept prisoners, so he had to transport the man to the Goodyear Police Department. During that drive, Gaspar repeatedly turned the air conditioning in the vehicle\u2019s prisoner compartment on and off.<\/p>\n

The man began to complain of feeling ill and became unresponsive, prompting the cop to drive to the hospital. There, the man regained consciousness, was treated and eventually released. Gaspar told his supervisor and medical staff that he thought the man was faking his medical condition.<\/p>\n

Gaspar was fired from the Goodyear Police Department and later pleaded guilty to one count of impingement, or false imprisonment, and was sentenced to six months of probation. That wasn\u2019t his last punishment. Last week, Arizona\u2019s police certification board suspended Gaspar\u2019s peace officer certification for three years. The suspension is backdated and will expire in August 2027.<\/p>\n

The board \u2014 known as the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board<\/a>, or AZPOST \u2014 licenses all law enforcement officers in the state and is one of the few agencies in Arizona with the power to discipline police<\/a>. The 12-member board includes Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, two rural sheriffs, Somerton\u2019s police chief, Phoenix City Councilmember Kevin Robinson and Ryan Thornell, director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn all honesty, my intent was to make him uncomfortable. One hundred percent, I\u2019m not going to deny that,\u201d Gaspar told the board at its Jan. 21 meeting. \u201cI know it\u2019s not our job to punish, but if you could have seen the look on these kids\u2019 faces that day\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

The board opened an investigation into Gaspar in August 2025. Gaspar and his attorney attended the January meeting to advocate against the revocation of his license.<\/p>\n

\u201cI made a horrible decision that day,\u201d Gaspar told the board. \u201cI know it was wrong. I got caught up in the moment. I take full responsibility.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The board was not united in what to do about Gaspar\u2019s case. Coconino County Sheriff\u2019s Office Jail Commander Matthew Figueroa said he \u201cstruggle(d)\u201d with the decision because \u201ceven on our worst day, we can\u2019t, for many reasons, take it out on our prisoners, our arrestees or our inmates.\u201d Chief Deputy Attorney General Bill Mundell said he understood \u201cit\u2019s an emotional situation, you\u2019re dealing with children,\u201d but was concerned with Gaspar\u2019s \u201cmeanness\u201d to \u201cteach him a lesson or something.\u201d<\/p>\n

In its first vote, the board split 6-6 on the question of revocation. The board also split when voting on a two-year suspension. After Mundell said he\u2019d vote for \u201csomething that was a little more severe,\u201d the board voted for a retroactive three-year suspension, which passed on a voice vote. It was not unanimous.<\/p>\n

When reached by Phoenix New Times after his testimony, Gaspar declined to comment.<\/p>\n

\"billChief Deputy Attorney General Bill Mundell speaks at a meeting of the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board.<\/p>\n

Other suspensions and investigations\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the first meeting of the year, the board also voted to punish 10 former and current law enforcement officers from across Arizona for various violations. Last year, the board punished 42 current and former officers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In addition to Gaspar, ex-Mesa officer Joel Hight was one of the other officers suspended. In May 2023, Hight parked his patrol vehicle in downtown Phoenix to attend a grand jury hearing. When he returned to his spot, he had received a ticket, which he turned over to his superiors. When he was questioned about where he parked, Hight lied. Mesa police fired him in August 2023. AZPOST staff recommended that the board uphold the revocation of his certification, but the board ultimately handed down a two-year retroactive suspension.<\/p>\n

Also penalized were:\u00a0<\/p>\n