Former AZ Corrections Dir. Was Drinking Before Standoff: Report

TEMPE, AZ —A report released by the Tempe Police Department noted that former Arizona prisons director Charles Ryan was legally intoxicated when he engaged in a 3 1/2 hour standoff with police at his Tempe home on Jan. 6, 12 News reported.

The 28-page report also suggested a wound to Ryan's hand previously thought to be self-inflicted, likely was caused by a pellet from a bean bag that police fired at Ryan, whom they said wouldn't put down his gun.

In the report, a police officer said he "feared for my life" when Ryan did not comply with police commands to put down the weapon in his hand.

The standoff ended relatively peacefully, though Ryan was hospitalized for the wound.

According to the Arizona Republic, Ryan never was held in a Tempe holding facility or booked in Maricopa County Jail.

The newspaper said Tempe police said they submitted several recommended charges to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, including: two counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer and one count of unlawful discharge of a firearm.

A spokesperson for the attorney's office said they are still reviewing the charges, according to the Arizona Republic.

In the police report, according to 12 news, on the night of the incident, Ryan had a blood-alcohol level of 0.105, above the 0.08 legal standard for intoxication. Ryan's wife, Kathleen Ryan, told police that her husband had consumed "half of a large bottle of tequila" on the day of the standoff.

The Arizona Republic said police obtained Ryan's blood-alcohol level after conducting a search warrant of his medical records at Chandler Regional Medical Center, where Ryan was taken for treatment of the gunshot wound.

In the police report, Kathleen Ryan is quoted as saying: "Charles is a heavy alcoholic drinker and has been drinking all day and had gotten worse since he had retired," 12 News reported.

According to police reports, Kathleen Ryan called police at 9:30 p.m. on the night of the incident when Charles Ryan discharged a pistol in the bathroom of their home.

The report stated that the police responded to the scene and evacuated seven homes surrounding the Ryan's home. During the standoff, a tactical armored vehicle, SWAT team, negotiators and a robot, used to open the front door, all were employed by police, according to the Arizona Republic.

A report made by Officer Fahed Salameh said the confrontation between officers and Ryan took place with Ryan standing inside his open garage.

"I realized that the black object initially observed by Officer Salameh and myself was (Ryan) pointing the barrel of the handgun at us," another officer reported, according to the Arizona Republic.

At that point, Salameh wrote that another officer shot at Ryan with a bean bag shotgun round and Ryan went back into the house.

Later, Ryan opened the garage door again. After Ryan refused to drop his gun, officers fired a second bean bag round at him.

When questioned at the hospital, Ryan said he did not know why the police had come to his house and did not remember pointing a gun at them, the Arizona Republic reported.

According to 12 News, Ryan retired as head of the Arizona Department of Corrections in 2019 after a report that he ignored problems with broken prison cell locks that put both corrections officers and inmates at risk.

The Arizona Republic reported that Kathleen Ryan was quoted in the police report as stating that it was not uncommon for her husband to think somebody was trying to break into their home.

"(He) does commonly patrol the property at night after consuming alcohol," said Kathleen Ryan, who said her husband also takes the sleep aid Ambien.

Police reports also stated that 16 pistols, rifles and shotguns were confiscated from Ryan's home, according to the Arizona Republic.