The former deputy director of the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control (ADLLCC) agreed in February to a two-year suspension of his state peace officer certification to resolve allegations of professional misconduct. So why is Michael Rosenberger eligible in a few days to apply to be a law enforcement officer again?
The answer is found in the consent agreement Rosenberger signed with the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training (AZPOST) Board earlier this year stemming from his resignation from ADLLC in 2021 involving an investigation of alleged sexual misconduct by a subordinate in 2020.
The consent agreement accepted by AZPOST effective Feb. 15 affirms Rosenberger’s conduct during that investigation constituted “malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance in office and is conduct that tends to disrupt, diminish, or otherwise jeopardize public trust in the law enforcement profession.”
But the consent agreement made the suspension retroactive to April 15, 2021. This means Rosenberger is free to seek a position as a sworn peace officer with any municipal, county, or state agency as Sunday.
Public records show Rosenberger’s inglorious departure from ADLLC was surprising. He had served 27 years with the Scottsdale Police Department before retiring in 2013, but then became certified once again as a sworn peace officer in order to join ADLLC when then-Gov. Doug Ducey appointed former Scottsdale Assistant Police Chief John Cocca to head the agency in 2015.
ADLLC is responsible for protecting public safety and supporting “economic growth through the responsible sale and consumption of liquor, and to efficiently license qualified applicants,” according to its website.
Ducey’s office quietly announced in April 2021 that Cocca and Rosenberger had resigned. No further details were provided at the time but it was later revealed the two, along with ADLLC Det. Miguel Sanchez, resigned in connection with actions taken during a criminal investigation of Sanchez’s alleged misconduct during an undercover investigation in October 2020.
The ADLLC undercover investigation was prompted by a request from the Arizona Health Department into whether COVID-19 public health measures mandated by Ducey were being followed at Skin Cabaret of Scottsdale. On Oct. 24, 2020, Sanchez and another ADLLC detective entered the Scottsdale business where they witnessed sufficient public health violations to temporarily suspend Skin Cabaret’s liquor license.
Yet Sanchez went ahead and paid for a private “VIP session” with one of the club’s female dancers. The dancer later filed a police report in which she alleged the detective continually tried to grope her. Unknown to anyone with ADLLC at the time was that Sanchez’s interaction with the woman was watched live by some of her coworkers.
Sanchez initially wrote in his report that the dancer allowed Sanchez to touch her breasts and buttocks. The word “allowed” was later removed by Sanchez after he learned Rosenberger received a tip from Scottsdale PD that the detective was under investigation for unlawful sexual conduct by a peace officer.
Rosenberger and Sanchez then discussed concerns with how the initial report was worded, although Rosenberger denies ever specifically directing Sanchez in what words to use.
However, Rosenberger admits allowing Sanchez to revise the report while on paid administrative leave. The new report painted a different picture of what happened in the private room – the detective now said he only touched the dancer in a defensive manner “to avoid attempts at sexual contact by the dancer.”
An investigation by the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) led to an 800-page report which accused Cocca and Rosenberger of displaying “a blatant and gross disregard for the practices and integrity of an internal law enforcement investigation.”
Rosenberger’s resignation was reported to AZPOST a few weeks later with a notation of potential misconduct. But the AZPOST board did not vote until September 2022 to formally look into the matter.
At its February 2023 meeting, the Board accepted Rosenberger’s consent agreement, which affirms he and a high-ranking Scottsdale PD official “had numerous conversations about the criminal investigation” involving Sanchez
between late October 2020 and January 2021. Some of those conversations “went beyond administrative content and into sensitive detail of the ongoing criminal investigation,” the agreement reads.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute Sanchez, who resigned from ADLLC to avoid being terminated for his conduct. Sanchez also relinquished his AZPOST certification.
One thing that will never be known is whether the interference by Rosenberger kept Sanchez from being prosecuted.
“It has not been established whether Respondent’s actions had any impact on the MCAO charging decision,” according to the consent agreement.