Do as we say, not as we do

Here is the police report on this incident.

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State Sen. Bundgaard involved in domestic violence incident

by Connie Cone Sexton - Feb. 26, 2011 10:07 PM

The Arizona Republic

Scott Bundgaard, the majority leader of the Arizona state Senate, was briefly taken into custody on suspicion of domestic violence Friday but was released because he was immune to arrest under rules of the Arizona state Constitution.

Aubry Ballard, who Phoenix police said is his girlfriend and was involved in a fight with Bundgaard, was arrested on one count of assault.

Bundgaard, R-Peoria, and Ballard had minor injuries, said Phoenix police Sgt. Tommy Thompson.

Thompson said police responded to a call at about 11:20 p.m. Friday of a man pulling a woman out of a gold vehicle, which was stopped northbound next to the median on Arizona 51, just south of Cactus Road.

When officers arrived, they said Bundgaard, 43, and Ballard, 34, his passenger, showed marks of a physical altercation, "which constituted an act of domestic violence," Thompson said. After being taken into custody, Bundgaard told officers that because he is an Arizona state senator, he is immune from arrest. Thompson said the department confirmed Bundgaard's statement and he was not arrested.

The case will be submitted to the prosecutor's office for review. The immunity was not a "trump card," Thompson said. "The only thing it did was not allow him to be booked into jail."

In an interview Saturday evening, Bundgaard said he had not been involved in a domestic violence incident Friday and has never been accused of domestic violence.

"It's not acceptable to assault anyone for any reason," he said. Bundgaard said he had been dating Ballard about seven months and said she had attacked him.

Bundgaard said he had participated Friday in a National Kidney Foundation of Arizona charity event, Dancing with the Stars Arizona 2011. As he was leaving, he said his girlfriend accused him of inappropriately touching his dance partner.

As he drove Ballard home, he said she started throwing his clothes out of his car on the freeway. He stopped to retrieve the items and then said Ballard "yelled that she was going to take my car and moved into the driver's seat. I immediately returned to the car and asked her to get out. She refused. I had no choice but to pull her from the driver's seat which resulted in marks on her knees. I had also had no choice but to stop her from punching me and risking highway safety, all of which resulted in a black eye for me and a busted lip."

In an interview with The Republic, Bundgaard called Ballard a "good woman with a good heart. I'm not going to hire a lawyer. The best thing to do is learn from this and forgive this and move on."

Ballard, whose LinkedIn profile lists her as director of operations and sales for a non-profit organization, was booked into a Maricopa County jail on suspicion of one count of assault. She was released late Saturday afternoon and later gave a statement. Ballard said she has been trying to understand what happened. "I'm still trying to get my mind around a few things," she said. "Scott's actions, the 17 hours I spent in jail awaiting processing, my bruises, scrapes and soreness and his statements to the media.

"I'm not a public figure. Nor am I someone who wants to see her private life made public. At the same time, I value my reputation. I've always been a strong believer in the truth. I have a lot of thinking and praying to do before I decide what to do next."

In an earlier statement Saturday, Bundgaard said he has "never inappropriately touched a woman and never would. Period," he stated. "I was not intoxicated. There was no 'domestic violence.' Such conduct is offensive to me as it should be to all people. I waive any and all 'legislative immunity.' If I did something wrong, charge me. I did not."

Bundgaard said his friends and family are surprised by the matter. They know "it's just not my character." He apologized "to any and all for what has taken place."

He is sorry that Ballard was hurt. "When I physically removed her (from the car), if she has scrapes on her knees, I'm sorry about that," he said. "But when you're being punched in the face and she's trying to jerk the wheel and exit, that's a dangerous situation."

Bundgaard said he was unhappy that the police handcuffed him but said "they did the best they could under the circumstances."

Thompson said although Bundgaard was not arrested Friday "it does not mean that he will not face those charges."

Thompson said Article Four, Part 2, Section 6 of the state Constitution allows for immunity for members of the Legislature unless it is a "felony, act of treason or breach of the peace." The immunity is only allowed during a legislative session or 15 days before it begins.

The alleged incident between Bundgaard and Ballard "did not rise to a felony," Thompson said. Thompson wasn't sure of the implication of Bundgaard waiving his immunity. "The only immunity was against him being arrested at that point," he said.

In 1988, Gov. Jan Brewer, then a state senator, was involved in an alcohol-related car crash.

Department of Public Safety officers, after learning that Brewer was in the legislature, told her that she had immunity from arrest. No charges were filed in the case. Brewer said at the time she had been drinking but was not impaired.

Bundgaard, who serves on the finance, judiciary and rules committees in the Senate, was first elected to the Arizona legislature in 1994 to represent District 19 in the state House.

In that first run for office, the then 26-year-old candidate discussed being placed on two years' probation in the 1980s for a burglary at a grocery story where he worked.

In an earlier interview with The Republic, he said he had been "in a bad judgment situation."

His record was expunged after he completed two years of probation, and his rights to vote and run for office were restored.

Bundgaard specialized in tax, finance and business-related bills during his earlier years at the Legislature. After one term in the House, he was elected to the Senate in 1996, where he became chairman of the Finance Committee and helped engineer a menu of business and personal income tax cuts. Bundgaard was an architect in 2000 of the bill creating the Arizona Tourism and Sports Authority, which tapped voter-approved funds to build University of Phoenix Stadium and renovate spring-training facilities. He resigned to run for former U.S. Rep. Bob Stump's seat in 2002, but lost the GOP primary to Rep. Trent Franks, who still holds the seat.

Arizona Republic reporters Mary K. Reinhart and Kristena Hansen contributed to this report.

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Arizona Senator Bundgaard may have assault charge filed against him

by Craig Harris and Alia Beard Rau - Mar. 3, 2011 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic

A Phoenix police officer who investigated last week's altercation between Senate Majority Leader Scott Bundgaard and his now ex-girlfriend recommended that a domestic-violence assault charge be filed against the lawmaker.

The request is included in the Phoenix police report, in which the woman says Bundgaard struck her first and pushed her down at least twice. The report also cites an eyewitness - an off-duty police officer - saying that he saw the dispute and that a man was pushing or pulling a female next to the passenger-side door. The witness said the woman fell to the ground while the male had his hands on her.

The report, obtained by The Arizona Republic on Wednesday, is the first public allegation that Bundgaard struck his former girlfriend, Aubry Ballard, during their scuffle alongside a Valley freeway Friday night. Ballard's interview in the report directly contradicts Bundgaard's public description of the events, in which he said he was not involved in a domestic-violence incident Friday and has never been accused of domestic violence.

Although Bundgaard was released - officers said he invoked state lawmakers' immunity from arrest - Officer Randall Patterson asked in his report that a domestic-violence assault charge be pursued against Bundgaard once the Legislature is out of session.

After the incident, Ballard, 34, was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence and was booked into jail before later being released.

The police report contains differing accounts from Bundgaard and Ballard as to what transpired when they got into a fight on Arizona 51, just south of Cactus Road.

The incident grabbed national headlines, resulting in outrage from local residents who have expressed concern that Bundgaard, the second-highest ranking state senator, would use rules in the Arizona Constitution to avoid being taken into custody. Phoenix police have said Bundgaard told officers he could not be jailed because he was a state senator and the Legislature was in session.

Bundgaard, 43, on Wednesday said that he would not comment until he had read the police report. But Senate President Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, supported him, calling Bundgaard a "victim."

"I know what is going on. I think he is a victim of this whole thing. I feel bad for him. He certainly has paid the price," Pearce said, referring to the negative publicity.

Ballard, through a spokesman, said the police report speaks for itself.

"Aubry told the police what happened. From the beginning - from the minute she got out of jail - she spoke to me about this story and has told the same story and never deviated. What is in the police report is what happened," said David Leibowitz, a Ballard friend and spokesman.

In the report, officers say they responded to an emergency call of a male throwing a female onto the ground.

In the police report, another investigating officer recorded Ballard's version of events:

Ballard said she and Bundgaard were quarreling as he drove north on Arizona 51. During the fight, she said, he used his right arm to hit her over her chest. After being hit, Ballard said, she then struck Bundgaard in the face with an open left hand.

She said she then tried to use her cellphone to call her parents for help, but Bundgaard grabbed the phone and threw it out his driver's-side window. She told police Bundgaard then stopped the vehicle on the inside shoulder of the northbound carpool lane to retrieve her phone.

Both of them left the car to find the phone, and when Bundgaard returned to the vehicle he threatened to leave her on the freeway. Ballard said she tried to open the driver's side door but was unable to do so because the senator had locked the doors.

Bundgaard then opened the driver's-side door and pushed her to the ground with both hands, she said, causing her to cut her right knee. Ballard told police that she had difficulty remembering all the incidents but that he pushed her down at least twice.

The report also recorded Bundgaard's version: He said the couple had been at a charity event earlier that night. They were driving to his parents' home because Ballard had left her vehicle there.

The senator said Ballard had become upset because he was dancing with another woman at the event. Bundgaard said that Ballard was making statements that "he didn't love her anymore and began to yell at him."

Bundgaard told police that Ballard said she was going to jump out of the moving vehicle and that she threw his suit out the window as they passed Shea Boulevard. He also said she hit him several times in the face and tried to grab the steering wheel and crash the vehicle into the concrete median.

The senator said that he stopped the vehicle to retrieve his suit and that, when he returned, Ballard was throwing items onto the freeway. He then tried to put Ballard back into the car, he told police.

Bundgaard also told police that he was a state senator and that the Legislature was in session. Phoenix police spokesman Trent Crump has told The Republic that Bundgaard cited an article in the state Constitution that allows legislators to have immunity from arrest "in all cases except treason, felony and breach of peace" while the body is in session.

Sen. Leah Landrum Taylor, D-Phoenix, assistant minority leader, said the police report appears to show Bundgaard was involved in a serious domestic dispute.

"I would be concerned about any leader not being able to possess self-control. I know there are different sides of the story, but she still had bruising," Landrum Taylor said. "As statesmen and stateswomen, we have to be cognizant that we carry these titles."

Ballard was charged with one count of assault, but a prosecutor has moved to dismiss the charge without prejudice, meaning it can be refiled.

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Scott Bundgaard's Police Report: Bundgaard Invoked Immunity

By Stephen Lemons, Wed., Mar. 2 2011 @ 4:24PM

The PPD says Bundgaard invoked immunity "several times"

The Phoenix Police Department has released the report on the recent domestic violence incident involving Republican state Senate Majority Leader Scott Bundgaard and his ex-paramour Aubry Ballard.

Perhaps the most contentious issue it addresses is Bungaard's insistence to the media that he did not ask for the legislative immunity granted by the Arizona Constitution, even though the PPD cut him loose while arresting Ballard and hauling her off to the Fourth Avenue Jail.

In the PPD's press release on the matter, Sergeant Tommy Thompson stated the following:

"After being taken into custody, Mr. Bundgaard informed the officers that he is an Arizona State Senator and as such, is immune from arrest, while the legislature is in session, which it currently is. Based upon Article IV, Part 2, Section 6 of the Arizona State Constitution, Mr. Bundgaard was correct and not arrested at that time however, the case will be submitted to the prosecutor's office for review."

The police report itself backs this statement up. Randall Patterson, one of the arresting officers, writes:

"Since Scott stated that he was a state Senator and that he was in session, my supervisor Sergeant Rodarme #6999 contacted the legal department to verify that information."

Further down, the same officer states:

"Sgt. Rodarme was advised by our on duty legal attorney that under Article 4 of the [Arizona] Constitution that if the Senate was in session and unless Scott committed treason or breach of the peace then he was immune to arrest. It was verified that [the Legislature] was in session."

I called the PPD for clarification. Sgt. Thompson informed me that the PPD is standing behind its initial statement on Bundgaard wanting immunity.

"He asserted [his immunity] several times to the supervisor," Thompson said of Bundgaard.

Indeed, why else would Bundgaard identify himself as a state Senator and tell the cops he was "in session"? Apparently, he knew he had a get-out-of-jail-free card.

The report clearly says that, "Based on Senator Bundgaard's position, he was released."

Bundgaard knew what was going on as they took his girlfriend away. After the fact, Bundgaard said he was willing to waive his immunity. But at the time, he was quite content to take advantage of the privileges of membership in the state Senate.

There's also some other interesting info in the report, which you can read, here.

The struggle between Bundgaard and Ballard was obviously quite physical. According to the report, Bundgaard claims Ballard threatened to jump out of his gold Mercedes and threw his suit out of the car. When he stopped, Ballard jumped out, and he tried to put her back in. Or so he claims.

Bundgaard says Ballard began hitting him in the car. But Ballard states that while driving, Bundgaard "used his right arm in a swinging motion and hit Ms. Ballard over her chest. The strike caused bruising on the left upper chest area of Ms. Ballard. Ms. Ballard stated that he struck her twice."

Ballard admits that she struck him after she had been hit two times by Bundgaard. She also says Bundgaard pushed her out of the car. She told police he pushed her down at least twice, and she sustained scrapes to her right knee and hand.

Regarding Bundgaard, Officer Patterson concludes by stating, "I am requesting that the domestic violence assault charge be submitted on Senator Bundgaard when the [Legislature] is not in session."

Many will be looking to see that exactly that happens.

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Arizona Senator Bundgaard freeway incident stirs debate

by Mary K. Reinhart - Mar. 5, 2011 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic

Among the issues arising from the freeway altercation between Senate Majority Leader Scott Bundgaard and his now ex-girlfriend, what amounts to appropriate use of legislative immunity from arrest may prove the most difficult to sort out.

Questions persist about whether Bundgaard abused the constitutional provision of legislative privilege to avoid arrest on Feb. 25.

Legal experts differ on the finer points of the limited immunity, its origins and its modern meaning. But they generally agree that Phoenix police could have arrested Bundgaard, a case in which police said both he and Aubrey Ballard showed signs of assault.

Police agencies have handled the issue in various ways over the years. Authorities note that each case is unique and subject to the best judgment of officers on the scene.

What's clear is that the legal privilege enjoyed while the state Legislature is in session, no matter how it may be interpreted or applied, doesn't prevent legislators from being prosecuted for a crime.

"The overriding thing to remember is, just because the individual did not go to jail that night does not mean that he has totally walked away from any charges," Phoenix police Sgt. Tommy Thompson said of Bundgaard. "Those charges will be submitted to the city prosecutor for review."

The Bundgaard case

Although Bundgaard has said he didn't invoke his legislative privilege when police handcuffed him along Arizona 51, police say otherwise.

The Peoria Republican cited the provision in the Arizona Constitution by name, Thompson said.

"He said that he was a senator and because the Legislature was in session, that under Article 4 of the Arizona Constitution that he was not to be arrested," Thompson said.

After checking with legal counsel, officers released Bundgaard. Ballard was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence and jailed overnight.

The Constitution says lawmakers are "privileged from arrest in all cases except treason, felony and breach of the peace, and they shall not be subject to any civil process during the session of the Legislature, nor for 15 days before the commencement of each session."

Some Senate Democrats say they believe Bundgaard may have abused legislative immunity from arrest, and they are considering whether to call for an ethics investigation.

Domestic-violence charges would be misdemeanors, however, which wouldn't appear to fall under the Constitution's exceptions for a felony. Treason would not be applicable.

That leaves breach of the peace.

Breach of the peace

Legal experts agree that scuffling along an urban freeway could fall under the broad constructs of "breach of the peace."

The common-law offense is generally defined as anything that endangers or disturbs public peace and order, such as disorderly conduct.

"Certainly, when there is an altercation on a public roadway . . . if you're going to list all the kinds of things that would be appropriately categorized as breach of the peace, this would be," said Larry Hammond, a Phoenix defense attorney.

Hammond said police typically arrest at least one person in a domestic-violence incident, even if only on suspicion of disorderly conduct, as a way to diffuse the situation.

But Thompson said officers investigating the Bundgaard-Ballard fight determined that it didn't meet the threshold.

"The best information the officers had at the time was that it didn't constitute a breach of the peace," Thompson said. He said each case is considered separately, based on the circumstances.

In June 2008, Phoenix police arrested then-Rep. Mark DeSimone on the last day of the legislative session after his wife called 911 to say he had hit her in the face. DeSimone, a Phoenix Democrat, resigned and agreed to undergo counseling in exchange for dismissal of a misdemeanor assault charge.

The Tucson Police Department includes a section on "immunity from arrest" in its general operating procedures. It states that a breach of the peace would include assault, domestic violence and disorderly conduct but not drunken driving.

Thompson said Phoenix police have no such provision, but it's his understanding that legislative privilege would not extend to drunken driving.

In March 2007, Rep. Trish Groe was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving while on her way back to Lake Havasu City from the state Capitol. Groe took a one-month leave of absence to complete an in-patient alcohol-treatment program and later served a 10-day jail sentence after pleading to a misdemeanor DUI.

On the other hand, Gov. Jan Brewer avoided arrest in 1988 after she was involved in a car crash. Brewer, then a state senator, told Department of Public Safety officers she had been drinking, but they released her after determining she was a lawmaker.

Law officers learn about legislative privileges during their training, Thompson said, but almost never practice it.

"To say that we encounter it very rarely would be an understatement," Thompson said, adding that he had never faced a legislative-privilege case in 27 years of policing. The conundrum

The Arizona Constitution's provision on legislative privilege from arrest borrows from the U.S. Constitution, but it's not identical. Both stem from common law and were intended to ensure lawmakers weren't prevented from voting and other legislative duties.

Neither the Arizona Supreme Court nor the state Attorney General's Office has offered an opinion directly on legislative privilege from arrest.

The only state Supreme Court ruling is a 2006 case involving Rep. David Burnell Smith, R-Scottsdale, who sued the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission after it removed him from office for campaign-finance law violations. The state's high court said Burnell Smith couldn't claim legislative privilege to stop a ruling on a lawsuit he had filed.

Although there was little background on the passage of Article 4, the court said, it appeared that it was intended to "prevent an arrest, either criminal or civil, that would prevent a legislator from attending session."

Dan Barr, a Phoenix attorney specializing in constitutional law, said the state and federal language are centuries-old anachronisms that have no modern-day practical application.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled twice, in 1908 and in 1934, that the legislative privilege was intended only to prevent arrests in civil cases back when such arrests were common.

"The courts are very consistent that it doesn't apply to legislators' criminal acts," Barr said.

It doesn't matter what the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled, said Paul Bender, a former Arizona State University law-school dean. The Arizona Supreme Court can, and frequently has, deviated from federal rulings to give Arizona citizens broader constitutional rights. The state's high court, for example, allowed media access to criminal trials long before the U.S. Supreme Court did.

"This is an individual-rights case," he said. "There's nothing in the U.S. Constitution stopping Arizona from giving its legislators a larger privilege from arrest."

Bender said he believes Article 4 clearly gives state legislators privilege from arrest during the session in misdemeanor cases, such as domestic violence.

But he agreed that the freeway fracas between Bundgaard and Ballard appeared to be a breach of the peace.

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Arizona's hottest dance show: Scuffling with the Senator

All week long, it's been the hottest ticket in town – a front row seat to everybody's favorite footloose dance sensation:

Scuffling with the Senator, starring Scott Bundgaard.

When it comes to smooth moves, this guy's the champ.

Our show starts last Friday evening as Arizona's Senate majority leader and his girlfriend -- headed home from a charity “Dancing with the Stars” event -- are found fighting in the middle of a freeway. She goes to jail for 17 hours. He goes home, having announced that he's a senator and thus immune from arrest.

On Saturday, our star senator busts another move, insisting that he's innocent and that his crazed girlfriend attacked him and and oh, one other thing. He forgives her.

“The best thing to do,” he said, “is learn from this and forgive this and move on.”

On Monday, Bundgaard was tripping the light fantastic on the floor of the Senate, tearfully pleading with people not to beat up on his now-ex-girlfriend. This, even though the only one who had done so is, well, him.

By Tuesday, he was madly tap dancing his way across Barry Young's show on KFYI, insisting that he never invoked immunity.

“I informed law enforcement that I was a state legislator,” he said, “and that said two things to them: one, you're not dealing with some idiot on the roadside, if you will, and two, you're dealing with someone who has a vested interest in making sure that everything goes smoothly.”

The reason he wasn't arrested, he explained, is because he's innocent – the victim of an assault by his now-ex and also drunk girlfriend.

“I'm asking for justice for me and I'm asking for mercy for the young lady that was there,” he said.

So now comes Wednesday and the police report.

“Since Scott stated that he was a state senator and that he was in session, my supervisor Sergeant Rodarme contacted the legal department to verify that information ...,” an officer wrote. “Sgt. Rodarme was advised by our on-duty legal attorney that under Article 4 of the Constitution that if the Senate was in session and unless Scott committed treason or breach of the peace then he was immune to arrest.”

Or as police spokesman Trent Crump more succinctly put it: “He cited the article to our supervisor.”

The report says an off-duty cop saw Bundgaard “pushing or pulling” Aubrey Ballard, who then fell onto the ground “while the male had his hands on her.” Ballard, meanwhile, said that Bundgaard hit her in the chest twice and that she responded by hitting him in the face. She said he also pushed her down a couple of times.

Both had minor injuries.

I'll leave it prosecutors to figure out what charges are applicable and to whom. Phoenix police have recommended that Bundgaard be charged with assault.

By Thursday, he had wisely decided to quit talking and was shuffle ball chaining his way into the weekend, no doubt hoping that the story will fade away by Monday.

Given our Legislature, that could happen.

The fact that Bundgaard hasn't already stepped aside as Senate majority leader is unsurprising. The fact that Senate President Russell Pearce hasn't stripped him of the job is just sad. Then again, why would he? Pearce sees Bundgaard as a “victim”.

But what of curiously silent chorus line? Why haven't the rest of the Republicans in the Senate demanded that Bundgaard be removed from his leadership post?

What sort of state are we living in, where a guy can protect his sorry senatorial @#$ by invoking immunity, lie about it to the public, face the distinct possibility of prosecution for beating up on a woman and still be waltzing around the Capitol as Senate majority leader?

And yes, I would say the same thing if he was a Democrat. Some things transcend partisan politics. Or they should.

Unfortunately, the rest of our leaders seem to have only one move.

The chicken dance, I believe they call it.

Don't count on any complaints being file. Corrupt government rulers tend to protect themselves and their fellow corrupt tyrants.

Source

No complaints filed yet against Bundgaard

Phoenix police officer requested charges be submitted after session

by Alia Beard Rau - Mar. 5, 2011 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic

No Arizona lawmakers have filed a complaint against Sen. Scott Bundgaard to the Senate Ethics Committee, but some are considering the option.

After the Senate majority leader had an altercation with his now ex-girlfriend, a Phoenix police officer requested domestic-violence charges be submitted against Bundgaard after the legislative session ends.

Police released Bundgaard the night of the altercation after officers said he invoked lawmakers' legislative privilege from arrest.

Ethics-committee investigations are rare, only two have been conducted in the past five years, and they are taken very seriously.

Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu City, chairs the committee. It consists of Sen. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert, Sen. Leah Landrum Taylor, D-Phoenix, Sen. David Schapira, D-Tempe, and Sen. Steve Yarbrough, R-Chandler.

Anyone with an ethics concern about a senator would have to file a complaint with Gould. As of Friday, no complaint had been filed.

The committee has the authority to address "conduct alleged to be unethical," which according to committee rules would include violating a state or federal law, violating the public trust or "any improper conduct that adversely reflects upon the Senate."

If Gould does receive an official complaint, there is a strict process for handling it:

- The senator against whom the complaint is filed is notified verbally immediately and then notified in writing within two business days.

- Gould can decide the allegations do not constitute unethical conduct and dismiss the complaint; however, objections by two or more other committee members can overrule that dismissal.

- Within seven days after receiving the written notice, the senator has seven days to file a written response to Gould. The senator is not required to file any response.

- Once the committee receives the written response or the seven-day deadline has passed, the committee then has five days to decide whether it will proceed with an investigation.

- If the committee decides to investigate, a hearing date is set for sometime within the following five to 20 days.

- During the investigation, the committee has the power to issue subpoenas for individuals and documents as well as require witnesses to testify under oath. The senator can elect to be represented by an attorney at his or her own expense.

- Once the hearing is finished, the committee would vote to dismiss the complaint, recommend the full Senate vote to issue a letter of reprimand, recommend the full Senate adopt a resolution of censure or recommend the full Senate vote to expel the senator from the Senate. The latter would require a vote of two-thirds of the members.

If at any stage the committee finds evidence of a possible criminal violation, it must give that evidence to the appropriate law-enforcement agency.

Committee hearings are open to the public, but the committee can make testimony or documents received during the investigation confidential.

With the exception of several investigations related to the "AzScam" political-corruption case in the early 1990s, there have only been a handful of ethics-committee investigations in either the House or the Senate in the past 20 years.

The most recent was a 2008 Senate Ethics Committee investigation of Jack Harper, now a state representative, for a complaint filed by a Senate Democrat accusing Harper of violating senate rules by interrupting a filibuster attempt by opponents of a proposed constitutional ban of same-sex marriage.

The committee threw out the complaint.

Harper also successfully fought a complaint in 2006 that alleged he used his subpoena power to feed information to the Phoenix New Times.

In 1998, the House Ethics Committee dropped a complaint against then-House Minority Leader Art Hamiltonthat stemmed from an incident in which Hamilton shoved a House aide during an argument.

In 1995, Rep. Jeff Groscost resigned from his leadership position as majority whip to avoid an ethics-committee investigation for repeatedly failing to meet campaign-finance reporting deadlines.

Source

Scott Bundgaard's marriage quickly failed in 2006

by Craig Harris - Mar. 8, 2011 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic

Embattled Senate Majority Leader Scott Bundgaard, who faces calls to step down because of an altercation with his ex-girlfriend, had a brief and tumultuous marriage five years ago to a woman who left him during their honeymoon after seeking police assistance.

Bundgaard and Anne Harwell, an artist and granddaughter of late Detroit Tigers Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell, were honeymooning in Kona, Hawaii, when she called police on April 8, 2006, saying she needed help.

Harwell, in a police report, told a dispatcher that she was afraid of her male companion and that she wanted police to escort her to the couple's vacation rental so she could retrieve her personal items, Hawaii police Lt. Randy Ishii told The Arizona Republic.

After retrieving her belongings, Harwell left Bundgaard and returned to Georgia, where she lived at the time. Five days later, she filed to have the marriage annulled in Maricopa County Superior Court, records show.

Harwell told police officers little more than that she was afraid of her companion, according to a report recently read by police to The Republic.

Harwell, who now lives in Florida, declined interview requests.

Bundgaard, 43, said Monday that he was unaware Harwell had filed a police report. He said she unexpectedly left him one afternoon while he was out getting items for a picnic. He said he called police to check on her safety after she left him a note.

Bundgaard on Feb. 25 was involved in an altercation with then-girlfriend Aubry Ballard along a Valley freeway. She alleges that Bundgaard, R-Peoria, struck her first. She was arrested and spent the night in jail. The senator contends she hit him.

Bundgaard invoked legislative immunity from arrest to avoid being held, according to Phoenix police.

Bundgaard again said Monday that he was not involved in domestic violence with Ballard or his ex-wife.

"I don't want anyone to get this untrue perception that I am any kind of an abusive person. It's not true," Bundgaard said in an interview.

The senator said he tried to salvage his marriage and was shocked when Harwell left him.

"If I had laid a hand on her, I would understand why she would leave and had wanted out of the marriage. But I didn't, and I never have with any women," Bundgaard said.

Bundgaard and Harwell had a whirlwind romance, meeting on the Internet in late October 2005, according to court records. Five months later, they were married at the Paradise Valley estate of Pierre Falcone, a friend of Bundgaard's.

Falcone was an arms dealer who in 2009 was sentenced to six years in a French prison for masterminding the trafficking of Soviet-made weapons to Angola during a civil war in the 1990s. Bundgaard said Monday that he only knew Falcone was an oil and gas trader and that Falcone previously denied to him that he was involved in arms dealing.

Bundgaard and Harwell entered what is called a covenant marriage, a union, which, by Arizona law, requires a higher threshold to dissolve.

Court records show that Bundgaard vigorously fought to save his marriage and that he offered to pay for counseling.

Harwell dropped the initial annulment filing in mid-June 2006, but she filed again to end the marriage later that month.

Four days before Christmas 2006, Harwell sent Bundgaard an e-mail saying she wanted out. The marriage was annulled in June 2008.

"I have come to the final realization that this marriage is never going to work," Harwell wrote in a missive that appears in court records. "I realize I can't meet your needs or expectations, only God can do that. I don't think I will ever be able to satisfy you. I think it's best if we agree to end this amicably and stop this futile pursuit of trying to make this marriage something it will never be. If you agree to let me go now, you can keep all of our wedding gifts and I will not seek any attorney fees."

Bundgaard said Harwell didn't want to be away from her family, who lives in the South.

"I really worked hard to cause some reconciliation, and at times it was working out well, Bundgaard said. "In the end, we had irreconcilable differences, and it was best to be dissolved."

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Scott Bundgaard faces ethics probe, calls for resignation

by Mary K. Reinhart - Mar. 7, 2011 01:45 PM

The Arizona Republic

The chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee said he will allow an investigation into Majority Leader Scott Bundgaard, R-Peoria, in the wake of a domestic-violence incident last month.

Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu City, also called for Bundgaard to resign his leadership position.

"Getting in a fistfight with your girlfriend on the side of the freeway is behavior unbecoming a senator," Gould said Monday. "I won't be led by somebody who does those kinds of things."

Senate Democrats are asking Bundgaard to resign and if he refuses, they want the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate.

"He needs to step down so we can get our business done in this Legislature," said Senate Minority Whip Paula Aboud, D-Tucson.

The ethics committee has the authority to address "conduct alleged to be unethical," which according to committee rules would include violating a state or federal law, violating the public trust or "any improper conduct that adversely reflects upon the Senate."

In a statement, Bundgaard said he has no intention of resigning. He apologized "for being involved in an incident that generated criticism of our Capitol institutions and me."

"I will clear my name as this issue works through the process, and as more information comes out," Bundgaard said. "And I will do so in the face of the politics that have now been injected into this issue."

Bundgaard and his now ex-girlfriend, Aubrey Ballard, were involved in an altercation along a Phoenix freeway Feb. 25. Phoenix police say both showed signs that they'd been assaulted.

Ballard was jailed overnight, but Bundgaard was released after police say he invoked his privilege from arrest as a lawmaker in session. Bundgaard acknowledges telling officers that he was a state senator, but denies that he mentioned the legislative privilege.

Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Tucson, called Bundgaard's conduct "inexcusable."

"I find it reprehensible that Sen. Bundgaard invoked his legislative immunity to avoid going to jail that night," Lopez said.

Bundgaard has said that the reason he wasn't arrested was because he did nothing wrong. In a statement released the day after the incident, Bundgaard said he had "never inappropriately touched a woman and never would."

But in interviews with police and The Republic, Ballard said Bundgaard struck her in the chest with his right hand during an argument as the couple drove north along Arizona 51. She told police that she struck Bundgaard in the face with an open hand, and he stopped his Mercedes along the median after throwing her cellphone out the window.

An off-duty Phoenix police officer called 911 to report a man pulling or pushing a woman near a car parked along the median. Bundgaard said he was trying to get Ballard back into the car.

The state Constitution says legislators are "privileged from arrest in all cases except treason, felony and breach of the peace, and they shall not be subject to any civil process during the session of the Legislature, nor for 15 days before the commencement of each session.

Some legal experts have questioned why Bundgaard wasn't arrested, saying an altercation along an urban freeway qualifies as "breach of the peace."

Regardless, the legislative privilege from arrest does not protect lawmakers from being charged during the session.

Police intend to recommend that misdemeanor domestic-violence charges be filed against Bundgaard. City prosecutors dropped a similar charge against Ballard, but it could be refiled.

Gould said he wants to ensure that any Ethics Committee does not get in the way of a criminal investigation. "I have no intention of shielding Sen. Bundgaard from an ethics investigation," he said.

Gould said the "honorable thing" for Bundgaard to do is to step down as majority leader before the Republican caucus ousts him.

Aubry Ballard reached for a gun! Honest!

Girlfriend reached for gun, Bundgaard told lawmakers

by Mary K. Reinhart and Craig Harris - Mar. 9, 2011 02:55 PM

The Arizona Republic

Senate Majority Leader Scott Bundgaard told lawmakers Tuesday that his now ex-girlfriend was trying to reach for a gun he kept in his car during a domestic-violence incident last month, according to Republican legislators who attended a caucus meeting to discuss whether Bundgaard should keep his leadership post.

The lawmakers, who asked not to be identified, said Bundgaard did not say that Aubry Ballard brandished a gun at him. However, the legislators indicated that the information convinced the caucus to give Bundgaard one more week in his job. Bundgaard told the GOP meeting that his claim would be corroborated in a supplemental Phoenix police report.

There is no mention of a weapon in the original seven-page police report, where Bundgaard alleged Ballard had become upset with him because he had previously danced with another woman that night and she was going to jump out of the car.

David Leibowitz, a spokesman for Ballard, said Wednesday that Ballard was "flabbergasted" about Bundgaard's latest claims.

"Day by day, Scott's story about the night of Feb. 25th continues to change. This latest version, his most desperate story so far, can be described in one word: False," Leibowitz said. "This is the action of a desperate man seeking to hold his pitiful little position in the Arizona Legislature."

Bundgaard could not be immediately reached for comment. His spokesman, Jason Rose, issued a statement that said: "We are working with law enforcement and will continue to work with them as it relates to all issues involved with this case. We have no further comment beyond a commitment to continue to cooperate with them."

The GOP caucus is to take up the matter of at its next meeting Tuesday. Several senators said there were enough votes to oust Bundgaard before he made the gun allegation.

On Tuesday, Senate Republicans refused to oust Bundgaard, with most agreeing it would be premature to take action before the investigation is complete.

Bundgaard, R-Peoria, said he offered to resign during the 90-minute closed-door meeting even though he is confident the investigation would clear his name.

"I'm grateful for my caucus members who are willing to wait until the facts are released and willing to wait for the judicial process to take its course," Bundgaard said.

Several GOP senators said they believed Bundgaard's late-night freeway altercation brought embarrassment to the Senate and was reason enough for him to surrender his leadership post, regardless of whether charges are filed.

"I asked Sen. Bundgaard to step down, and I'm disappointed that didn't happen," said Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu City. "I made my case. Apparently, not well enough."

Senate Republicans chose Bundgaard as their leader, and it would take a majority vote to oust him. Gould said a vote was not taken Tuesday.

Bundgaard remains the subject of a Senate Ethics Committee investigation. But Gould, chairman of the ethics committee, said the timeline is unclear and may depend on how the case works its way through the justice system.

Senate Democrats formally requested an ethics probe Monday, but Gould said he doesn't want those proceedings to compromise investigations by Phoenix police and city prosecutors.

Gov. Jan Brewer, speaking at a mid-day event in Glendale on Wednesday, called the growing controversy surrounding Bundgaard "unfortunate" but declined to say whether she thought he should step down from his position.

"Certainly its something that we hate to see happen," Brewer said. "Its an unfortunate situation that of course everyone is dealing with now."

Brewer said the decision whether to ask for his resignation was a decision best left to the caucus:

"I think that is a legislative issue," she said. "They need to do collectively within that body what they think is the right thing to do."

A police report says both Bundgaard and Ballard showed signs of abuse after a Feb. 25 scuffle on Arizona 51. They arrested Ballard and took her to jail, but officers said they released Bundgaard because he invoked lawmakers' privilege from arrest while the Legislature is in session.

Phoenix police Sgt. Tommy Thompson said the case will be forwarded to city prosecutors when completed.

Vicki Hill, chief assistant prosecutor for the city of Phoenix, said she expects to receive the police report next week, and then her office will decide whether to pursue charges against Bundgaard.

While the state Constitution may have prevented him from being arrested that night, Hill said she doesn't believe it prevents him from being prosecuted during the session.

Sen. Leah Landrum Taylor, D-Phoenix, assistant minority leader and an ethics committee member, said she believes the panel should hold hearings concurrent with criminal proceedings. Landrum Taylor said she's concerned about prolonging a controversy that continues to distract lawmakers from their work.

"We want to make sure that it's done right," she said. "But we've got to move forward. We've got to put this issue to rest."

Bundgaard on Monday questioned whether Gould could serve as an impartial Ethics Committee chair after publicly calling for him to step down. But Gould, known for being outspoken and sometimes crosswise with his leadership, said his opinions about Bundgaard's behavior would not taint the proceedings.

"To pretend that you don't have feelings on this issue, you're just deceiving yourself and deceiving the public," Gould said. "He's going to get a fair hearing."

Senate President Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, lashed out at the media in a statement released after the GOP meeting. Pearce has been steadfast in his support of Bundgaard.

"We decided the media will not drive us to rush to judgment," Pearce said. "There was a consensus in the caucus that action at this time would be premature and unfair."

Source

Bundgaard firing blanks

So, in order to save his majority leadership job with fellow Republicans state Sen. Scott Bundgaard apparently told them that his former girlfriend pulled a gun on him during their altercation on a Phoenix freeway.

This according to an article in The Arizona Guardian.

Funny thing, though: As the Guardian points out, no where in the seven-page police report on the incident does Bundgaard mention a gun.

I'm guessing that if someone have pulled a gun on you or I it would be the FIRST thing we would mention. According the Guardian article, Bundgaard kept the weapon in his car. A spokesman for Bundgaard's former girlfriend said that sometime during their relationship she may have touched the firearm, but not during their dust up on the freeway.

Are you buying Bundgaard's story?

Does not bringing up the gun at this time smack more of Bundgaard trying to save his political job than it does of anything else?

(It's WAY too late to save his reputation, given the fact that he played the amnesty card to get out of jail; left his girlfriend to get hauled off to the pokey and then immediately trashed her with press statements.)

At this late stage in the game it's not the girlfriend pulling a (metaphorical) gun, it's Bundgaard.

And he's firing blanks.

Source

The Scott Bundgaard Stories, Chapter 12: Enter, the gun

So now there's a gun.

Twelve days after Senate Majority Leader Scott Bundgaard's freeway fracas, he suddenly says his girlfriend pulled out a gun

One would think that might have come up in conversation with police when he was in handcuffs at the scene. One would think it might have come up when he was on radio defending himself (and basically laying girlfriend out to dry as a crazed drunk woman).

One would think he might have mentioned it at some point during the last 12 days as the flames of this story were fanned, often by him.

Instead, it came up on Tuesday, as he was hanging on to his leadership post with his fingernails. Aubry Ballard, he says, was going for the gun he kept in his gold Mercedes.

As the latest chapter in The Bundgaard Stories goes, the dancing senator didn't mention that his girlfriend was reaching for his gun because he wanted to protect her.

Apparently, chivalry isn't dead after all. Who knew?

Are you buying this?

Stay tuned for Chapter 13 wherein our hero discovers that the gun was really an Uzi and his girlfriend was really an illegal immigrant/drug runner, forcing him at gunpoint to take her to Reno to deliver a load of cocaine she'd secreted in the trunk of his Mercedes. Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at 03:48 PM

Our royal government rulers know they are above the law - "many legislators ... have stickers on their driver's licenses, quoting the section of the Constitution that gives them immunity ... the stickers were supplied by DPS and given to all legislators" - I guess it is some type of royalty assistance program.

Source

Scott Bundgaard: 'Why did police give me this gun back?'

It is Day 14 of The Fracas On The Freeway and I am sitting across a cafe table from the majority leader of the Arizona Senate, who is showing me his gun.

It's inside a heavy plastic bag, the kind police use to secure a person's belongings.

Bundgaard says the police took his Glock 36 the night of the fight, after he told them that his girlfriend had pulled the loaded weapon from the center console. Before the night was over, she was on her way to jail and he was on his way home — with his gun, still in the bag, he says.

“They gave it back to me,” he said, pushing the gun toward me. “So now I'm being accused of domestic violence assault. Well, why would you give a weapon back to a guy who is now under suspicion of some kind of domestic violence assault? That's perplexing to me.”

It is perplexing. Equally perplexing is the fact that there is no mention of a gun in the Phoenix police report. No mention, in fact, of several details that Bundgaard claims he told the police that night, which either means he's lying or the police gave a woefully inadequate account.

The cops aren't talking, except to say that further information may be released late next week. “The investigation is still ongoing,” Sgt. Tommy Thompson said. “When it's completed I think you will see some interesting things.”

While police aren't talking, Aubry Ballard's spokesman had plenty to say about Bundgaard's latest revelations.

“He's a liar,” David Leibowitz said. “He's a pathological liar. If his mouth is moving, he's lying.”

And so begins week three of the story too bizarre to die.

I met with Bundgaard on Friday to hear his latest version of the events of Feb. 25.

The police report says both Bundgaard and Ballard showed signs of abuse. Police say they let Bundgaard go because he invoked immunity while Bundgaard says they let him go because he was the victim. The report recommends that Bundgaard be charged after the Legislature adjourns.

Bundgaard says that he didn't publicly disclose that Ballard pulled out his gun until this week because he and Ballard had decided early on to “de-escalate this thing.” He says he's only talking about it now because Ballard “abandoned that agreement and started doing media tours.”

Personally, I didn't sense much de-escalation in Bundgaard's first public statement, 21 hours after the fight, wherein he proclaimed himself the victim and her the abuser. Or when he appeared a few days later on KFYI to say she was drunk.

Regardless, here is the story, as Bundgaard now tells it:

The two of them were headed home in his gold Mercedes after the Dancing with the Stars event — his dance was the rumba. She was drunk and upset that he'd been holding his dance partner too closely. As they drove north on Arizona 51, passing Shea Boulevard, she proceeded to throw a garment bag holding his suit out her window and open her door to get out.

As the dome light came on, he says he threw his arm across her chest, using his flat hand to push her into the seat. She then grabbed the steering wheel, punched him in the eye and hit him in the mouth with her cell phone, he says, as he was pulling into the center median.

Once stopped, he got out to get his suit and her phone, which he'd tossed out the window. When he returned, he says she was in the driver's seat, trying to leave. While he was leaning into the car to grab the keys, he says she went for his holstered gun.

“She reached into the center console and began to pull the weapon out,” he said. “The minute that she did that I grabbed it from her, threw it in the back seat … and then pulled her from the vehicle.” Ballard has said that she hit him in the face with an open hand after he hit her across the chest twice. He also pushed her to the ground twice, she has said, and threatened to leave her beside the freeway.

Before it was done he had a ripped shirt, a black eye, a few cuts and a swollen lip. She had bruises on her chest and scrapes on her knees and a hand.

Bundgaard says he immediately told the police that Ballard had pulled a gun and where to find it.

There is, however, no mention of a gun in the police report. No mention of his being hit with a cell phone. No mention that she was drunk. (Leibowitz says it's because she wasn't.)

Bundgaard believes that police are unfairly making him out to the look like the aggressor rather than the victim. He wonders why the off-duty cop who spotted the altercation and called police didn't stop.

"If what was happening was so egregious, then why didn't he intervene?” Bundgaard asked. “Why did the police give me this gun back in an evidence bag? These things don't add up.”

They don't add up — if they're true. If Bundgaard is telling the truth, then the police need to explain why they didn't mention the gun and why they would return a gun to a guy suspected of beating up his girlfriend.

Bundgaard also said:

--That many legislators — but not him — have stickers on their driver's licenses, quoting the section of the Constitution that gives them immunity. Another senator confirmed that the stickers were supplied by DPS and given to all legislators.

--That Ballard went target shooting at the Scottsdale Gun Club with her father in December. This, despite her recent claim to Ed Montini that she's been terrified of guns since she was younger and decided to stick with Barbies. "Unless she was playing with Barbies in December, early January, I think somebody needs to take a deeper look into those comments or her credibility in this regard."

Montini says she didn't say that she hadn't been around guns since she was young, merely that she's been scared of them since then. Leibowitz confirmed that Ballard recently went to the gun range at her father's request. “She said she went to the Scottsdale Gun Club with her dad who wanted to take her shooting but it didn't work and that she burst into tears.”

--That he passed a lie detector test — one presumably paid for by him.

--That Sen. Ron Gould spoke out against Bundgaard because he has political ambitions, possibly because he wants to run for Congress if Trent Franks decides to make run for the Senate. "I approached him on the floor and said 'why did you go to the media without the facts' and he said 'I don't care about the facts.'"

--That's he willing to step down as majority leader if his fellow Republicans wish it. “I serve at the pleasure of the caucus," he said. "I'm happy to step down, but I don't want to step down under the auspices that I've done something wrong.”

And so the story goes on and on and, to my utter amazement, on.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/us/politics/12immunity.html?hpw

A Legal Privilege That Some Lawmakers See Broadly

By MARC LACEY

Published: March 11, 2011

PHOENIX — The majority leader of the Arizona State Senate scuffled with his girlfriend during an argument on the side of the road late one night recently. He hit her and she hit him, according to the police, but the two suffered dramatically different fates.

Scott Bundgaard, at a speech in July. His girlfriend was charged after a quarrel, but he went free.

The majority leader, Scott Bundgaard, told Phoenix police officers that he was a state senator, and he cited a provision of the Arizona Constitution that gives lawmakers limited immunity from arrest, the police said. Police Department lawyers were consulted, and they ordered that Mr. Bundgaard be uncuffed and released.

Aubry Ballard, Mr. Bundgaard’s girlfriend of about eight months, on the other hand, was arrested for domestic violence and spent the night in jail.

Just how protected lawmakers should be from prosecution is an issue that many states grapple with, said Steven F. Huefner, a law professor at Ohio State University who studies the issue.

He said the privilege, which is included in the United States Constitution and in many state constitutions, was designed to protect lawmakers from civil matters that would interfere with their legislative duties. “The legislative privilege should not become a get-out-of-jail-free card or escape-from-ever-being-put-in-jail card for state legislators,” he said during a presentation on the issue during the National Conference of State Legislators Summit last year.

The special treatment that Mr. Bundgaard received, and the domestic violence accusations against him, have drawn considerable criticism here, with some of the senator’s colleagues and women’s groups calling on him to resign, or at least step down from the Senate leadership.

Intent on holding onto his job, Mr. Bundgaard, 43, denied that he invoked legislative immunity after the police responded to his roadside brawl with Ms. Ballard on Feb. 25. He said that Ms. Ballard, 34, hit him after accusing him of dancing the rumba too closely with another woman in a local charity version of “Dancing With the Stars.” He said that he did not hit Ms. Ballard at all and that he passed a polygraph.

Sgt. Tommy Thompson, a police spokesman, said in an interview that the senator specifically invoked Article 4 of the State Constitution, which says lawmakers are “privileged from arrest in all cases except treason, felony and breach of the peace, and they shall not be subject to any civil process during the session of the Legislature, nor for 15 days before the commencement of each session.”

Ms. Ballard has accused her ex-boyfriend — both of them say the relationship is over — of hitting her first as they drove in his gold Mercedes on State Highway 51 north of downtown Phoenix. They have accused each other of throwing personal items out of the window of the moving car, which Mr. Bundgaard eventually pulled over near the median.

After he hired a public relations consultant to present his version of events, Ms. Ballard went on local television to give her side of the story. “The officer came over, the sergeant, and said, ‘Look, I hate to do this to you, it’s not fair, but I’m going to have to take you off to jail. He’s been granted immunity; he’s a senator,’ ” she said.

Police departments around the country treat legislators’ privileges in various ways.

In 1999, Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia pulled out a copy of the United States Constitution after a traffic accident and pointed out the section that stated that members of Congress “shall in all cases, except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest.” He later backed down and had an aide ask the police in Fairfax County, Va., to issue him a citation.

In Arizona, State Representative Mark DeSimone was cited for misdemeanor assault for hitting his wife in the face in 2008, The Arizona Republic reported. The charge was dropped after he resigned and agreed to undergo counseling.

At other times, the paper reported, lawmakers have faced no penalty. That was the case in 1988 when the police released State Senator Jan Brewer, who is now Arizona’s governor, after discovering she was a lawmaker. She had been involved in a car crash and had stated that she had been drinking.

A group of Democratic lawmakers have demanded that Mr. Bundgaard, the Arizona Senate’s No. 2 Republican, resign. The Senate president, Russell Pearce, has stood by his Republican colleague, saying that he considered Mr. Bundgaard to be the “victim” in the case. At a closed-door caucus meeting on Tuesday, Republicans declined to remove Mr. Bundgaard from his leadership position.

The local news media reported that Mr. Bundgaard accused Ms. Ballard of reaching for a gun he kept in the car, an accusation that did not make it into the police report and that Ms. Ballard denied.

Senator Ron Gould, a Republican and chairman of the Senate ethics panel, recently implied to reporters that he would have gone after Mr. Bundgaard if Ms. Ballard had been his daughter. “Something would have happened,” Mr. Gould said.

Mr. Bundgaard has spoken of the events on the Senate floor and has said he thinks it is time for the archaic notion of legislative privilege to go. “I am not above the law,” he said.

Mr. Bundgaard has not been formally charged, but the police say they intend to present the case to prosecutors. “The only thing that kept him out of jail was that he invoked his immunity,” Sergeant Thompson said. “He will have to answer these charges.”

Source

Phoenix recommend charging Sen. Bundgaard with assault

by William Hermann - Mar. 24, 2011 11:32 AM

The Arizona Republic

Arizona Sen. Scott Bundgaard should be charged with assault in a case involving his girlfriend, Phoenix police said Thursday.

Phoenix police reports released Thursday of last month's domestic violence incident between Bundgaard and his now ex-girlfriend, Aubry Ballard, say that each struck the other at least once and that officers at the scene believed Bundgaard had been drinking.

The reports also say a witness said she saw Bundgaard beating Ballard.

Bundgaard and Ballard had been at a social event the night of Feb. 25 and were driving north on Arizona 51 near Shea Boulevard after 11 p.m. when an argument ensued.

Ballard informed officers that during the argument, she tried to call her parents on her cell phone and Bundgaard grabbed it and threw it out a window. She said Bundgaard struck her twice. A report from the scene says, "Senator Bundgaard his right arm in a swinging motion . . . hit Ms. Ballard over her chest. The strike caused bruising on the upper chest area."

Ballard also said she struck Bundgaard with an open hand in the face.

Bundgaard informed officers that night that as a senator with the Senate in session he was immune from arrest. He was subsequently released. Ballard, however, was booked into jail.

Bundgaard denied to officers at the scene having used alcohol that night, but he was confronted by Officer Robert Rodarme, who wrote in his report, "I smelled alcohol on his breath." Rodarme said he asked Bundgaard how much he'd had to drink.

Bundgaard replied, Rodarme wrote, "I did not drink tonight."

Rodarme asked Bundgaard to take a field sobriety test. Bundgaard replied, "No," and then said, "I'm not taking your test."

Then Bundgaard's parents arrived and took the senator home.

When Rodarme told Ballard she was going to jail and Bundgaard wasn't, she exploded, the officer said.

"She immediately started crying, and yelled, 'Why isn't he going to jail? That's not fair'."

Rodarme said she then added, "I was just trying to protect him."

Also in the report, a witness told officers she saw a male trying to pull somebody out of the passenger side of the vehicle.

"She said, 'He was beatin' the living crap out of whoever was in the passenger seat'," the report says.

Associated Press contributed to this article.

Who is lying? Bundgaard? The cops? Both of them?

Bundgaard: 'wait until the police report comes out'

Chapter 29: The Bundgaard Chronicles, the police speak.

This week's story begins with a blast to the past. March 1, it was – four days after the now-infamous Friday night freeway fight in which the pride of Peoria, then-Senate Majority Leader Scott Bundgaard squared off against his then-girlfriend Aubry Ballard on Arizona 51.

It was a Tuesday and Bundgaard was taking to airways, asking people not to rush to judgment.

“I am happy to be held responsible for anything that police think I did or some city prosecutor or county prosecutor think I did,” Bundgaard told KFYI's Barry Young. “And I'm happy to wait until the police report comes out so that everyone has maybe a better understanding of what was transpiring.”

Well, then Bundgaard should now be ecstatic because the long-awaited police report is out. As for the public's understanding, let's review, shall we?

...Bundgaard: “I was stone cold sober.”

Police: Two officers reported alcohol on Bundgaard's breath. Sgt. Robert Rodarme asked him to take breath and field sobriety tests. Bundgaard refused. “I then told him ‘I've been doing this job for 12 years and I know you have been drinking because I could smell it on your breath.'”

…Bundgaard, on the gun. “The first question they asked was is there a weapon in the car? Is there anything I should be made aware of and I said, yes there is. It's in the backseat under this bag and the reason it's there is because she reached for it and I put it back there when I pulled her out of the vehicle.”

Police: Bundgaard didn't mention Ballard pulling a gun until 12 days later. “According to the responding officers, no indication was made by either party that the gun was ever involved, in any way, during this incident,” Detective Bryn Ray wrote.

…Bundgaard: After initially assuring us, “there was no ‘domestic violence',” Bundgaard said his crazed girlfriend hit him repeatedly and that he only pulled her out of his Mercedes to prevent her from driving away. “I removed an intoxicated woman who had reached for a gun from my vehicle with the goal being that she not drive off into traffic.”

Police: There is no way to know what happened inside the car. But five witnesses saw what happened outside the car and all five reported Bundgaard as the aggressor. Three said he pulled Ballard from the passenger seat and that she landed on the ground. One said he threw her to the ground. The fifth reported him walking toward her, yelling and waving his hands, as she backed away.

...Bundgaard, on his innocence: “They are welcome to charge me if I have done something wrong but at the scene they didn't charge me because the physical evidence was such that they saw that I was the one who was assaulted.”

Rodarme: “I told him that if the Legislature was not currently in session, that he would have been booked for assault/domestic violence.”

…Bundgaard: “I did not invoke immunity.”

Police: Three officers reported that Bundgaard told them he was immune. Rodarme said Bundgaard told him, “I demand you take these handcuffs off. I'm state Senator Scott Bundgaard and according to Article 4 of the Constitution you cannot detain me. I'm immune from arrest when the Legislature is in session in which it currently is.”

So, to recap.

Either: A. Bundgaard is lying.
Or B. Aubry Ballard, a DPS officer, six Phoenix police officers and five witnesses are lying. [I certainly am not a Bundgaard fan, but police officers lie just as much as politicians and probably a lot more. But either way I suspect Bundgaard is guilty as hell in this case!]

This, then, is the police report that Bundgaard wanted people to consider before drawing any conclusions about his fitness to serve as majority leader of the Arizona Senate.

Bundgaard, who is the chief operating officer for the Joe Foss Institute, a non profit “dedicated to promoting and teaching patriotism, public service, integrity and an appreciation for America's freedoms”.

Bundgaard, who should refrain from what I suspect will now morph into a search for the “real story” and instead launch a search for some integrity.

He should resign from the Legislature.

The Bundgaard Chronicles continue

The Bundgaard Chronicles continue

Chapter 289: The Bundgaard Chronicles. In which the long-awaited “truth” will finally come out … maybe.

This week’s story actually begins nine months ago, just four days after the infamous Friday night freeway fracas in which the pride of Peoria, then-Senate Majority Leader Scott Bundgaard, squared off against his then-girlfriend, Aubry Ballard, on the Arizona 51.

It was a Tuesday and Bundgaard had taken to the airwaves, imploring people not to rush to judgment. This, as he proclaimed that she was drunk and he was the victim and of course, he never invoked legislative immunity to avoid a night in the pokey.

“I am happy to be held responsible for anything that police think I did or some city prosecutor or county prosecutor think I did,” he told KFYI’s Barry Young. “And I’m happy to wait until the police report comes out so that everyone has maybe a better understanding of what was transpiring.”

Six days later, Bundgaard was asking his colleagues to hold off on tossing him out of leadership. “My message to them has been to keep your powder dry and wait until all the facts come out, and there is more to this story.”

More, indeed. After offering various versions of what happened that night – few of which matched up to what the police or the witnesses said – Bundgaard finally pleaded no contest to misdemeanor endangerment in August and agreed to go into a diversion program for first-time domestic violence offenders. If he completes the program, this ugly episode will be wiped off his record.

His criminal record, that is. Then there is the matter of his political standing.

After he took a plea, the Senate Ethics Committee decided to launch an investigation at the request of Democratic Sen. Steve Gallardo. Essentially, it’s a trial at which witnesses would be questioned and the whole story, at long last, would come out.

In September, Bundgaard welcomed the Senate inquiry. Because he took a plea, there had been no chance for a full airing of that Feb. 25 freeway fight.

"It's something that the senator deeply regretted - not having the opportunity to go through that night and give piece by piece his explanation of what happened," his attorney Austin Woods said at the time. "And (to have) somebody ask Ms. Ballard what happened that night."

Said Woods: “He’s treating this like the trial that he did not get to have because of the deal he took."

Or, as it turns out, not.

This week, Bundgaard sued the state Senate, asking a judge to block his ethics trial, which is scheduled to begin on Jan. 5. Bundgaard contends his colleagues missed a deadline and thus are barred from holding a trial into his wee-hour roadside activities.

Put another way, the senator who from the start has insisted that he was the victim and that all would be clear once the whole story came out is now suing to make sure that the whole story never comes out.

Folks, you can’t make this stuff up.

In a way, I don't blame Bundgaard for trying to stop the spectacle, which is coming just as he and the rest of our leaders prepare to return to the Capitol to pass a couple of hundred new laws for them to ignore and the rest of us to follow.

It must be galling to be judged by a Legislature that includes a fair number of Fiesta Bowl junketeers, people who broke the state's gift laws and financial disclosure laws and possibly even some other laws and were held to account by....

...well, no one. (Next week, we will find out whether Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery plans to file any criminal charges.)

Bundgaard, at least, was held to account by the criminal-justice system and no doubt will be again next fall, when he faces voters.

Still, I doubt the courts are going to come to his aid and interfere in legislative business, which means the trial will likely go forward to determine whether Bundgaard breached the Senate's ethical standards.

Instead of suing to stop the trial, a better defense might be simply to pose a question:

What ethical standards?