Pinal deputy on leave after bar fight arrest
Web Producer: Mekita Rivas
PHOENIX (AP) - A Pinal County sheriff's deputy is facing a disorderly-conduct charge after an off-duty incident outside a Tempe bar where police say he punched another patron.
Richard "Hank" Mueller was put on paid administrative leave after the Oct. 12 incident and has a Nov. 28 hearing on the misdemeanor charge.
Tempe police records obtained by the Arizona Republic says the 30-year-old deputy and another man were captured on video arguing and Mueller punched the other man. The victim told police he was intervening for a female friend who was getting unwanted attention from Mueller at a bar.
Police said there was "no clear assault" because Mueller may have been defending himself. But their reports called him intoxicated and irrational. He was cited and released.
Mueller declined to comment.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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