OPERATION NATION REPORT
2/26/2009 (links updated December 14, 2019)
ORIGINAL LINK: http://blog.operation-nation.com/2009/02/26/tempe-police-ryff-authenticates-tape-cleared-by-meyer.aspx
TEMPE — Tempe Police Chief Tom Ryff confirmed with CBS 5 in Phoenix he is in fact the person caught on tape coaching subordinate officers to lie. The tapes document several adulterous sexual liaisons with female co-workers, prostitutes and/or strippers. Tempe City Manager Charlie Meyer concluded that all serious allegations made against Ryff in a complaint filed with the city are “unfounded.”
Tempepolicecloset.com, an online forum started by former and current Tempe officers, also alleged that Ryff saves promotions and creates paid positions for friends and family. Ryff and both assistant chiefs, Steve Carbajal and John Rush, all make over $130,000 per year. Ryff, Meyer, and Tempe mayor Hugh Hallman are all part of a well-known “good ‘ol boys” network. They lie for one another to cover misconduct. Hallman and Ryff are both lifelong Tempe residents.
CLICK HERE to read the entire 13-page complaint and findings by the City of Tempe’s investigation. It may take several minutes to load.
Here is the CBS 5 Phoenix report from Wednesday, Feb. 25.
The 13-page complaint also accuses Ryff of “conduct unbecoming of a police officer.” Some of the other charges include violating public trust and having sex with a female employee in the department’s Diversity Office. The aforementioned office fields complaints from lower-level officers about police executives. Another improper sexual relationship happened in Washington, D.C. in May of 2007, according to the complaint. Ryff and several other Tempe officers attended a memorial there following the death of Tempe Police officer Kevin Weeks. They allegedly hooked up with sex workers during the trip.
Several Tempe Police officers have been accused of lying. Officer Chuck Schoville ordered two young “black” men to “do a little rap” to avoid getting a ticket. He retired in August of 2007 after an independent investigation revealed he lied in a complaint he filed. Stan Rosenblatt, the owner of the dog off-duty Tempe officer Whitney Jurjevich shot and killed in Pennsylvania, said Jurjevich lied to authorities to avoid being charged. Rosenblatt is now considering civil action. Officer Mike Wallace is named in a Notice of Claim served on the Tempe Police January 16, alleging he lied in an online report of an incident to cover his negligence.
Tempepolicecloset.com administrators said the only way the truth will come out is through independent investigation. They encourage Tempe citizens to contact city and state legislators.