Who is Julian Navarrette? Arizona cop hurls racial slur after drunk driving, begs 'don’t put my job at risk'
TEMPE, ARIZONA: An Arizona sheriff's deputy has been caught using a racial slur and begging to be left off the hook for driving under the influence when the police pulled him over last December, shows newly obtained body camera footage.
As per the police report, Pinal County Sheriff's Deputy Julian Navarrette was pulled aside by law enforcement when an Arizona State University police officer noticed him swerving at 2 am on December 5 in Tempe. Navarrette was asked to step out of the vehicle.
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Who is Julian Navarrette?
Based in Arizona, Navarrette is a Pinal County Sheriff's Deputy. As per Lopers, his hometown is Queen Creek, Arizona. He attended San Tan Foothills and went to Scottsdale College in Arizona. He majored in criminal justice. Navarrette was a part of the University of Nebraska-Kearney Athletic, seeing that he played football actively during his high school and college years.
What happened on December 5?
The ASU officer noticed the erratic manner in which Navarrette was driving after he was reportedly speeding and swerving the vehicle. The video footage, obtained by 12news shows the exchange between the two, with Navarrette admitting that he had been drinking but also saying that he's a police officer.
“How much have you had to drink tonight?” the ASU officer questioned “Just a couple drinks," Navarrette replied, seeing that he was out with friends prior to the incident. As per the footage, Navarrette even showed the on-duty officer his badge. The ASU officer confirmed that he was a deputy for the Pinal County Sheriff's Office and asked him to step out of the car.
“I’ve done this whole spiel man. What are we going through?” Navarrette asked. “Can we let anybody else in the vehicle go through this?” He reasoned. The ASU officer denied the request. “Then that puts my job at risk, right?” Navarrette added.
“You don’t think it’s gonna put mine at risk if I don’t do this?” the ASU officer said.
“Dude, I understand but can I, can I, maybe someone else, put, like, behind the wheel? Behind the wheel?" Navarrette said. “Don’t put my f**king career at risk.” He pleaded.
“This isn’t New York man," the ASU officer responded.
“New York? N----, I’m from Arizona dude. I’m not from New York," Navarrette said, using a racial slur to address the officer. "Dude, first of all, watch your mouth," the officer replied. The officer continued with a field sobriety test -- Navarrette blew a 0.121 in the Breathalyzer. The average limit in Azirona is 0.08. He was arrested on a DUI charge and held as the ASU police station, as per police reports.
Navarrette added that he could've been given a pass, seeing that --" No one reported it." However, the ASU officer countered his argument and responded by saying, “The fact that you’re telling me that tells me you shouldn’t be an officer."
Where is Navarrette now?
After the incident, Navarrette was placed on modified duty and was prohibited from driving a patrol car. He rode with another deputy while taking regular calls for service. Navarrette returned to regular duty on April 19. "Deputy Navarrette is currently the subject of an internal investigation related to this incident, and as such we cannot discuss the case," said a spokesperson.
In a statement by the ASU Police Department, they maintained that their "officers handled themselves in a professional manner, as they would with any subject they encounter."