It wasn’t what he did, it was his lying to cover it up.
A Goodyear police officer was fired in December after he lied about why his gun wasn’t clean during a random weapons inspection.
The issue came up at last week’s meeting of the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, which regulates police agencies.
Goodyear Police Department fired Officer Michael P. Mancino, who had been hired three months earlier, after a sergeant said the rookie officer was repeatedly dishonest about why his gun was dirty following a check on Dec. 5.
Initially, Mancino said he had used the department-issued gun at Scottsdale Gun Club the previous night.
Mancino later admitted he wasn’t truthful and simply hadn’t cleaned the gun.
Before the random inspection, officers were told they wouldn’t be punished if their guns were found to be dirty.
In a Dec. 8 pre-termination letter, Mancino was informed that he would be fired not for failing to clean his gun, but for lying about it, Fascenelli said. His dismissal was effective Dec. 11.