Fired Phoenix police officer sentenced in suspect assault case

PHOENIX – A former Phoenix police officer who was fired after pleading guilty in the assault of a handcuffed shoplifting suspect was sentenced to 12 months of probation Friday.

In May, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office filed an aggravated assault charge against Timothy Baiardi after he was caught on surveillance cameras slapping and hitting a suspect at a west Phoenix Walmart in December 2018.

On July 23, Baiardi pleaded to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct, which ensured he would avoid prison time.

Two weeks later, Chief Jeri Williams fired Baiardi, who’d been with the Phoenix Police Department for 17 years.

Per the plea, Commissioner Max Covil sentenced Timothy Baiardi to 12 months of probation for one count of disorderly conduct.

— MC Superior Court (@courtpio) August 30, 2019

Baiardi was working security off-duty at the store near 51st Avenue and Indian School Road when the incident occurred.

The video showed Roger Moran, a 22-year-old homeless man, seated with his hands cuffed behind him when Baiardi slapped him across the face with enough force to send him off the side of the bench.

Baiardi also kneed Moran, who was accused of stealing pants, two to three times and punched him four to five times, police said after watching the video.

Baiardi, a former board member for the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, was on administrative leave while the incident was under investigation until he was fired.

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