Prosecutors can't spin it: gun-wielding ex-prison boss Charles Ryan got off easy

The justice system is not always fair. We know that.

However, we would like to believe — because it’s what law enforcement officials, judges and, particularly, prosecutors — tell us, that those who operate within that system at least try to enforce the law equitably.

Then, someone like former Arizona Corrections Director Charles Ryan gets probation after a gun wielding standoff with police and we are reminded how all that talk is BS.

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell tried to excuse going easy on Ryan for the 2022 incident by saying that Ryan was too drunk to know what he was doing and that he didn’t point the weapon at officers.

Charles Ryan had to know police were there

Except, the Tempe officers involved in the incident, and body camera footage, and a report conducted by the county tell a different story. Then, there’s common sense.

How many ne’er-do-wells would you guess were able to avoid jail time for a gun charge by claiming they were too drunk to know what they were doing?

I’d guess … none.

During their standoff with Ryan, police used a tactical armored vehicle, SWAT team, negotiators and a robot.

Detective Michael McCasland wrote to the court, “There isn’t a reasonable person that could argue that Mr. Ryan didn’t know that it was the police trying to contact him. Based on his prior career, he was familiar with police.”

Somehow, Ryan spent no time in jail

Detective Fahed Salameh wrote that Ryan was “belligerent and uncooperative” from the start, and added, “If a gang member or generally any other person had acted the same way Mr. Ryan did on January 6, 2022, they would likely be in prison.”

McCasland said Ryan was ordered to drop the firearm but didn’t.

“Mr. Ryan pointed the gun at myself and Det. Salameh for 15 seconds,” McCasland wrote.

If Ryan was a man of color: He'd be dead

Sadly, there were hints from the start that it would go easy for Ryan.

After the incident, which expended a tremendous amount of resources and involved officers who thought they might get shot, Ryan was taken to a hospital. Not to jail.

In fact, he spent no time in jail.

Rachel Mitchell defends the charges

In a statement, county attorney Mitchell wrote, “In order to charge someone with aggravated assault, the State has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person intended to put the victim in fear for his life or of injury. There was no evidence that was his intent.

“Members of the Tempe Police Department command staff were contacted at the time of charging and agreed that the elements of aggravated assault were not there.”

This reminds me of something I read that goes all the way back to ancient Greece and the philosopher Plato, who is said to have remarked:

“The worst form of injustice is pretended justice.”

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Charles Ryan, the gun-wielding ex-prison boss, got off easy