Jeff Bonar Case
Former Flagstaff police officer Jeff Bonar will serve no jail time
Former Flagstaff police officer Jeff Bonar appeared in court with his attorney Marc J. Victor of The Attorneys For Freedom Law Firm. Bonar was charged with punching Marissa Morris in the face while serving an arrest warrant on Morris. Bonar attempted to arrest Morris because he thought she had an outstanding warrant. Morris resisted arrest, telling Bonar in the video that the warrant had been cleared. Bonar then allegedly punched her twice in the face as the two struggled.
At the news conference, alongside his attorney Marc J. Victor of the Attorneys For Freedom Law Firm, Bonar made his first public statements on the matter. Bonar’s argument has been that he was kicked in the groin and assaulted by the woman, Marissa Morris.
The punch was not excessive given the totality of the circumstances, Victor and Bonar said.
Dr. Jeffeory Hynes, Ed.D., Law Enforcement Policies and Procedures Use of Force Expert, noted within his conclusion:
“Based upon my review of the information provided and considering the totality of circumstances, I find that Officer Bonar acted within the scope of the “reasonable officer” standard and was justified delivering the disruption blows to Ms. Morris’ face. The disruption blows were delivered during Ms. Morris’ active aggression / resistance and active kicking and kneeing of Officer Bonar into his legs and groin area… My opinion is based on the evidence presented, the applicable laws, police department policy and my experience as a retired Police Commander for the Phoenix Police Department with 32 years of service.”
The expert report and Dr Hynes’ taped presentation to the reviewing Grand Jury, was a substantial assist in getting the charges dismissed against Jeff Bonar.
Jeffrey Bonar will serve no jail time unless he violates his unsupervised probation. He was sentenced to 18 months of unsupervised probation and will have to complete an anger management program, 80 hours of community service, and pay a $500 fine. If Mr. Bonar successfully completes that 18-month probation, then aggravated assault will be dismissed and there will be no charges remaining against Mr. Bonar.
Bonar’s attorney, Marc Victor, said the former officer was happy with the end result.
“We think we got to the right result. Our expectation is that all charges will be entirely dismissed,” Victor said.
