PHOENIX — A judge has ordered a West Valley lawmaker to stay away from Tolleson city officials over an alleged pattern of "aggressive and threatening behavior" that included vulgar tirades, a trance-like stare-down and what appeared to be a death threat.
The injunction against workplace harassment was filed Oct. 18 against first-term Democratic State Rep. Leezah Sun of west Phoenix.
The injunction was sought by Tolleson City Manager Reyes Medrano, the appointed official in charge of running city operations; Government Affairs Director Pilar Sinawi; and Alicia Guzman, a government affairs assistant.
The order bars Sun from having any contact with the three Tolleson employees or going to the Tolleson Civic Center. Sun represents Tolleson at the state Capitol.
Sun was also ordered not to possess, receive or purchase firearms for the duration of the order.
Sun: 'Ongoing Defamation Campaign'
Sun, who describes her occupation as "activist," emailed a six-page, 3,500-word response to 12News. The response says, in part:
"The incidents described in this injunction are part of an ongoing defamation campaign against me by the plaintiffs... I would like to appeal or have this injunction overturned immediately. Not only does it contain several spurious claims, but it prevents me from fulfilling my duties as an elected representative.
"If the plaintiffs are present at an event, meeting, or other place with elected officials and constituents, the injunction does not permit me to attend. This is just another form of corruption, a way for the plaintiffs to arbitrarily use legal institutions to exercise their bias for other representatives."
House Democratic Leader Lupe Contreras said via a spokesman:
"I'm not familiar with the details, but this is obviously a very serious matter. I have not had the chance to speak with Representative Sun about this. Since this is a legal matter with due process that is under way, it would be premature to say anything more at this time."
'Trance-Like Focus'
The petition for the injunction, obtained by 12News, describes these episodes that alarmed the Tolleson employees:
-An incident May 31 at the Tolleson Civic Center when Sun arrived unannounced to speak with a City Council member. With no council members available, Sinawi provided Sun with an update on a state budget decision that affected the city.
"Sun interrupted: 'Bull----! That's bull--- ! I'm going to tell you how it is,'" according to the petition.
"As the conversation progressed, Ms. Sun became increasingly hostile towards Mr. Medrano, saying, in a raised voice, 'You have some guts! You are so disrespectful to me.' This culminated in Ms. Sun shouting 'You are a douchebag!' at Mr. Medrano.
"She then aggressively leaned towards him and stared at him for several seconds in what seemed to be a trance, and in a manner suggesting she wanted to physically hurt Mr. Medrano. Ms. Sinawi had to repeat Ms. Sun's name a few times to snap Ms. Sun out of her trance-like focus on Mr. Medrano."
'Throw Her Off This Balcony'
-In August, at a Tucson conference for the Arizona League of Cities and Towns, Sun allegedly made a statement that was perceived as a threat to kill Sinawi.
According to the petition, during a conversation with conference participants, Sun said: "Pilar Sinawi better not show her face here, or I will smack her in the face and throw her off this balcony to kill her."
"One of the witnesses, who did not know Ms. Sinawi personally, was so disturbed by Ms. Sun's statement that the witness later reported the statement to the police and warned Ms. Sinawi that she should be concerned about Ms. Sun" according to the petition.
Following on Instagram
-In September, the order says, Sun sent Instagram requests to follow Medrano's son and Sinawi's spouse.
"While social media requests might ordinarily be innocuous, such requests are disturbing in the context of the prior incidents in this case," according to the petition.