Arizona Sheriff Sues Building Owners Over Shoulder Injury
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has sued the owners of a downtown Phoenix, Ariz. office building over a broken shoulder he suffered when he fell crossing a street.
Arpaio is seeking unspecified damages for his February 2013 injury and has alleged that the building’s owners should have known about the dangerous conditions that led to the accident. The lawsuit against Hines GS Properties Inc. and the other owners was filed Oct. 29.
Hines GS Properties didn’t immediately return a call last week seeking comment.
Mark Goldman, a lawyer representing Arpaio, said the lawsuit was filed after the sheriff made attempts to resolve the matter amicably.
The sheriff has said he tripped on a sidewalk near his headquarters as he headed to a restaurant to get a bowl of soup.
He fell on his shoulder, breaking it in two places. He spent about two days in a hospital and then two weeks recuperating at his home in Fountain Hills.
Arpaio posted images and video online showing him in the hospital in the days after his fall, including one with tubes in his nose. He sold a sling he wore during his recovery in an online charity auction.
A police dog trainer from Northern California paid $2,600 for the sling. The proceeds went toward buying equipment and food for a shelter run by the sheriff’s office for abused animals picked up in cruelty investigations.