Winslow Police Officer Austin Shipley, who has been under investigation for the March 27 shooting death of Loreal Tsingine following a shoplifting incident, has resigned. Shipley was on paid leave pending the outcome of the investigation into the shooting. His resignation came a week after the completion of an internal affairs investigation by the Mesa Police Department.
Winslow City Manager Steve Pauken stated that Shipley submitted his resignation Oct. 31 and that it was effective immediately.
Though the investigation by MPD is complete, the city attorney’s review of Shipley’s resignation letter and the outcome of the investigation was pending. Both were expected to be made available to the public later in the week.
“Our plan moving forward is to continue with the organizational review of the police department, which will be complete by the first of the year. We will be selecting new leadership for the department after we evaluate the strengths and weaknesses. After that we hope to do better in all aspects for the department, not just regarding use of force,” said Pauken.
Since Shipley has resigned and his certification has not been revoked, he is eligible to apply to another law enforcement agency in the state. If he chooses to leave the state and apply to another agency, he will likely have to be re-certified to that state’s standards.
If the outcome of the MPD investigation determines no wrongdoing, Pauken noted that there is no further action to be taken by the city regarding the shooting incident that has prompted groups such as Red Nation to speak out against what they believe is racial discrimination by law enforcement officials in reservation border towns.
