AZ:Man in Desert Arrested for not Surrendering Rifle to Deputies who Refused to show ID

Richard Malley helps patrol the sparsely populated Arizona desert to spot Illegal aliens.  He has been arrested for refusing to surrender his rifle to deputies who refused to show their ID.  The story says that Richard Malley is accused of aggravated assault for allegedly pointing his rifle at a deputy.   From  abc15.com:

GILA BEND, AZ - Authorities arrested an Arizona Minuteman for allegedly pointing a rifle at a deputy over the weekend.

According to court paperwork, 49-year-old Richard Malley and two other men who are part of the Minuteman militia were patrolling the desert just east of Gila Bend, along Interstate 8, Saturday night.

Two Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies were checking nearby mile posts often used for drug trafficking when they came across mile post 140, court papers said.

When the deputies pulled up to the area, they reportedly flashed their high beams and honked their horn.

Court papers say Malley thought a crime was occurring when the deputies showed up, so he felt the right to flash his rifle and a flashlight at one of the deputies.

The deputy verbally identified himself as law enforcement, but Malley continued to point his rifle and asked the deputy to show identification, court documents said.

Crucial details that seem to be glossed over in the story, are these:

Arizona has a "defensive display" law that allows citizens to show that they are armed if they are in fear of attack.

Numerous crimes have been facilitated by criminals wearing police uniforms and claiming to be police.

Nowhere in the story does it say that the deputies turned on their police lights or siren.  Such a display would have helped to identify them.   It is never mentioned whether or not the vehicle had any official markings.

Merely flashing high beams and honking does not indicate a police presence.

All of the above occurred in darkness, as shown by the use of vehicle lights and the flashlight, making positive identification even more difficult.

When the additional units arrived, Malley apparently cooperated fully, because there are no charges of resisting arrest or of obstruction of justice.

I find it less than credible that Malley actually pointed the rifle at a deputy.  Deputies are trained to react violently to such a direct threat.  More details will come out as the case unfolds.

 I hope that there is some video of the event.

 ©2013 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Update: The deputies were in camouflauge, not regular uniforms.  The car was unmarked, and they were playacting as drug dealers.