A Nogales, Arizona, police officer has been placed on administrative leave after a marked patrol vehicle was swept away in a flood control channel while officers were responding to what turned out to be an unfounded emergency call.
According to a news release from the Nogales Police Department, officers were dispatched around 1:13 p.m. on Saturday, July 18, after receiving a report that an adult woman may have been swept into a flood control wash in Nogales, Sonora.
Officers checked several observation points along the channel but found it to be mostly dry with no flowing water and determined the report was unfounded.
As officers continued searching the area, Officer Manuel Stimans drove a marked patrol vehicle into the flood control channel through an access point near the Holbrook Overpass at North Bankard and North Morley avenues to conduct security checks, the news release said.
Police said the patrol vehicle became stuck in sand and mud. While officers were attempting to free it, they were alerted that water was rapidly approaching through the channel. Officers immediately abandoned recovery efforts and exited the wash safely before the floodwaters arrived, the news release said.
A short time later, the rushing water swept the patrol vehicle downstream. The vehicle eventually came to rest near North Hohokam Drive, close to the entrance of the waste transfer station.
No officers were injured, and the patrol vehicle was recovered the following day.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety is assisting with documenting the incident. The Nogales Police Department has also opened an administrative investigation.
Because Officer Stimans was directly involved, he has been placed on paid administrative suspension while the investigation is conducted.
