A former Pima County sheriff's deputy accused of having on-duty sex with a fellow deputy's wife could find himself unable to work as a law officer in Arizona.
Thomas E. Taylor III resigned his deputy's job Jan. 20, and the Arizona Peace Officer's Standards and Training Board voted this week to review the case and determine whether Taylor should keep his peace officer's certificate, or have it suspended or revoked.
Without the certificate issued by the board, also known as Az POST, a person cannot work as a law enforcement officer in the state.
According to a report from Az POST, Taylor, 28, who started as a deputy May 11, 2007, scheduled a rendezvous with the other man's wife for Jan. 12 at a secluded spot east of the city in the Rincon Patrol District, where Taylor was assigned patrol duties.
The couple met about 3 a.m., with Taylor in uniform and driving a marked patrol car, the report said. Taylor directed the woman to a secluded parking area where they kissed, fondled and engaged in oral sex, the report said.
The woman, not identified in the report, also is a Sheriff's Department employee, but she was off duty and in her own car.
The alleged incident came to official attention after the woman, feeling "very guilty" about the matter, told her husband that night. Two days later, the husband sent a memorandum through the chain of command to the Internal Affairs Section.
The woman's husband also called Taylor, confronting him about the affair and Taylor admitted to it and "apologized to him for what he had done," according to the board.
Taylor was interviewed by an internal affairs detective Jan. 14 and his account of what happened "mirrored" the woman's account, except for the specific sex act in which they had engaged, the board said.
The internal affairs detective told an Az POST staff member that there was no evidence Taylor missed calls to duty while with the woman, the report said.
The woman involved is a civilian employee assigned to duties at the Pima County Jail, said Bureau Chief Richard Kastigar, in charge of uniformed patrol operations.
Kastigar said she violated no departmental rules as she was off duty when she met with Taylor and she is not facing discipline.
Taylor is not eligible for being rehired by the department, Kastigar said.
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