Tempe Settles With Black Hotel Worker Held At Gunpoint By Police

TEMPE, AZ — A Black hotel employee who was mistakenly held at gunpoint in August by a Tempe police officer has reached a settlement with the city.

The Tempe City Council unanimously voted to award Trevonyae Cumpian a $300,000 settlement during its Wednesday meeting. Cumpian, who was employed by the Hawthorn Suites hotel when the incident took place, filed a lawsuit against the city and the officer involved in September.

Tempe Mayor Corey Woods applauded the decision in a statement posted to Twitter following the meeting.

"While the swift approval of this settlement does not erase the fear and humiliation that Mr. Cumpian experienced, my hope is that this is the first step in the ability to heal and find peace," Woods wrote.

On Aug. 29, Officer Ronald Kerzaya with the Tempe Police Department responded to calls from the manager of Hawthorn Suites that an armed man was wandering the property. The manager told Kerzaya that the man was white and pointed him to a stairwell door that the man was last seen near.

The first man who came through the door was Cumpian, who is Black and worked at the hotel. The officer held him at gunpoint for nearly two minutes until the manager could verify his identity.

According to a news release from the city, an internal investigation found that Officer Kerzaya violated several department policies. He will not be fired but will not return to his job as a patrol officer for one year. The department said he has already begun serving a two-week unpaid suspension. He will continue working in an administrative role, which he has done since the incident.

In his official response during the discipline process, Kerzaya wrote that he has had a personal and family history of public service, including his time in the U.S. Marine Corps, but understood the dangers of his actions at the hotel.

“I understand that my actions have caused a tremendous amount of anguish for many different people, and I cannot convey enough how remorseful I am for my actions and the aftermath that so many people have been forced to deal with and continue to deal with to this day,” Kerzaya wrote.

Kerzaya’s immediate supervisor, who was also at the hotel that day in August, has received a 40-hour unpaid suspension. The department's investigation found that he did not properly supervise Kerzaya or manage the scene at the hotel.

A third-party review of the incident will take place at the request of Interim Police Chief Jeff Glover, who took over the job in October. The consultant will make recommendations to Glover about policy and training changes related to the incident.

Glover acknowledged the community's calls to fire Kerzaya, but said it wasn't possible in Tempe, as the department adheres to a 'progressive discipline' system. Under the system, certain actions trigger specific discipline unless a pattern has emerged in the officer's behavior. Kerzaya has not been disciplined since he was hired in Tempe in 2017.

“My determination of discipline in Officer Kerzaya’s case does not excuse his behavior, which was unacceptable and disheartening. We must address the behavior,” Glover said. “But we must also take responsibility and make the changes that will help ensure this does not occur again.”

The city of Tempe has taken significant action in 2020, amid protests against police brutality and high-profile incidents like the one that occurred at Hawthorn Suites.

Woods convened the Tempe Public Safety Advisory Task Force, which is currently examining police operations and recommending a plan for reimagined police services in the future that ensure fair and equal treatment of Black, Indigenous, people of color, homeless people and those with mental health challenges.

Glover is also working to ensure that the entire department undergoes de-escalation training by the end of 2021. Half of the department's officers have taken the training, thanks to a partnership with Arizona State University.

The department is also working to implement policy modifications from the group 8 Can't Wait, adding additional internal reviews for use-of-force cases and adding a wellness unit to better attend to the needs of officers responding to traumatic scenes.