A former Tempe police officer, accused of opening fire in a Scottsdale hospital last year, was to walk out of a mental-health facility Tuesday a free man.
But as Gilbert Tuffli, 55, left the Mesa outpatient clinic, he was arrested by detectives from the Maricopa County Attorney's Office and sent to jail.
Tuffli, who was declared unfit to stand trial in September, has been re-indicted on six felony charges including aggravated assault and unlawful discharge of a firearm.
"We acted to ensure public safety," Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said.
Tuffli allegedly went to Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn in downtown Scottsdale July 23, 2007, to seek revenge against employees who had barred him from the hospital.
Employees wrestled the gun from him.
Tuffli's arrest underscores Thomas' battle with the Legislature, which has not passed laws requiring prosecutors to be notified when defendants are released from mental-health facilities.
The mental-health system is a "revolving door" that doesn't "force defendants to be accountable for their alleged crimes," Thomas said.
Tuffli was found incompetent to stand trial in September, but doctors said treatment may have restored his mental health.
Last month, he was again declared unable to stand trial, but doctors reversed their decision that his mental health would be restored.
Prosecutors are seeking to have him civilly committed to a mental institution.
Thomas said his office would not have been aware of Tuffli's release if Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn officials had not alerted him.
Hospital officials opposed Tuffli's release, saying he remained a danger to patients and employees at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn.
"We are very happy that he was rearrested today," said Keith Jones, hospital spokesman. "And we appreciate the county attorney's diligence in this case."
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