A Scottsdale police sergeant was placed on administrative leave Thursday night after several women accused him of indecent behavior, authorities said.
However, Sgt. Dean Perna, 38, was not arrested as reported by some Valley media outlets Thursday night and Friday morning, said officials with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, which is conducting a criminal investigation.
“All this is is an allegation. And an allegation, oftentimes, turns out to be nothing,” said Lisa Allen MacPherson, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office.
Sheriff's Lt. J.J. Tuttle would not specify what Perna was accused of doing, only that several women filed a report about his alleged actions Wednesday. “(The detectives) just said (the women) thought it was indecent what he had done,” Tuttle said.
Deputies with a warrant searched Perna's Anthem home at about 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Tuttle said he did not know if Perna would be arrested.
Scottsdale police detective Sam Bailey said Perna has been with the department about eight years. Bailey said that to the best of his knowledge, Perna has a clean employment record. Perna, who is married and has children, is a patrol sergeant in the city's north district.
