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Phoenix firefighter's checkered past revealed
We are digging deeper into the past of a Phoenix firefighter who was arrested two separate times while off-duty. FOX 10 Investigator Justin Lum has more on what he has uncovered.
PHOENIX - We’re digging deeper into the past of Phoenix Firefighter Derrick Cast, who was arrested two separate times while off duty.
A Valley woman says she was harassed by Cast, who allegedly forced his way into her home.
FOX 10 reached out to the Phoenix Fire Department to speak about the choice of discipline, which was a one-day suspension. We've also reached out to the firefighter for comment, but there was no response.
Cast is a Phoenix firefighter for Battalion 1, and his father also worked for the department.
We’re learning through his personnel file that both arrests of this firefighter involved alcohol.
Backstory
Alison Hawley says she met Cast, 41, three years ago at a Sun City bar while she was with friends.
"He asked my friend for a ride home. That's when we drove him to his house, and I mentioned, ‘I live right here,' you know, not thinking he was a harm or any kind of danger. He had introduced himself as a fireman, said he was a decent guy," Hawley said. "I was getting to know, you know, them, and I didn't think he was a harm. So, I gave him my number, and then that was a huge mistake."
In the days leading up to June 30, 2021, she admits they exchanged texts. On that night, Surprise Police say Cast showed up at Hawley's home uninvited.
"When I walked up to the door, I opened it. Pushed his way in and started heading straight toward my children's bedrooms, immediately yelling, ‘You want to meet a fireman?’ He was holding a bottle of whiskey in his hand. My whole body went into shock." Hawley said.
FOX 10 obtained Cast’s employee file from the city of Phoenix. Documents on this incident confirm he was intoxicated at Hawley's home in front of her two young daughters.
"I said, ‘Hey, why don't I just give you a ride to your house?' The girls have school tomorrow. They don't need to be disturbed. Let's just – come on, let's go.’ So I had to try to talk to him because he didn't seem all there," Hawley said.
Timeline
A summary of Surprise Police's report reveals Cast returned to Hawley's home after she dropped him off.
According to her, Cast rang the doorbell nonstop, shined a red light through her front window and kept calling her phone.
She called 911 and Cast was gone before officers arrived. Twenty minutes after officers left, the report says Cast came back a third time to harass Hawley.
Police later arrested the firefighter, noting Cast had slurred speech and admitted to drinking 12 beers.
Cast was cited for two counts of assault and one count of harassment, but released. He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in municipal court, and the assault and harassment charges were dismissed.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, ordered to pay a $400 fine, and had to get mandatory alcohol and anger management counseling.
"I feel completely to blame that I even was in a position to meet him," Hawley said. "I don't go out. The one time I had gone out in years, and this happened."
In December 2021, Phoenix Fire interviewed Cast about his arrest.
He said he was intoxicated, but couldn’t remember all the details, saying he didn’t intend to hurt anyone and thought he and Hawley were starting a relationship.
It took nearly a whole year for the department to decide to suspend him for one workday of eleven hours for violating rules of conduct.
Digging Deeper
This wasn’t Cast’s first run-in with the law.
His file shows he was arrested in June 2019 by El Mirage Police on suspicion of disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing.
Police say Cast knocked on his neighbor’s door and once they opened it, he forced his way inside.
When the homeowner pulled out a gun, Cast allegedly went outside but kept pounding on the door, demanding alcohol or "he was going to hurt them."
Cast pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in city court, and entered a six-month diversion program requiring alcohol abuse screening and more than $500 in fines.
Back at the Phoenix Fire Department, he was given a written warning.
Hawley says she's still traumatized, and says there’s a clear lack of consequences for Cast.
"It is traumatic for everyone, but I don't feel that he should have gotten, you know, just a little bit of a fine and then continued on, because how many more times is he going to get in trouble?" Hawley said.
Going through Cast’s file shows he met all performance expectations since being hired in 2007 until his 2023 evaluation, which finally documented that he had been disciplined for the incident at Hawley's home in 2021. The report said he did not meet the expectations of professional and ethical conduct.
The Phoenix Fire Department sent us a statement that reads:
"Given the timeline of these investigations within the Phoenix Fire Department, we would not be able to comment on disciplinary decisions that were made in the past."