Nogales police cruiser swept away during flood response; officer placed on administrative leave

A Nogales police officer has been placed on paid administrative leave after a marked patrol vehicle was carried away by floodwaters during a response to an unfounded emergency report.

Officers were sent out around 1:13 p.m. Saturday, July 18, after a report that an adult woman might have been swept into a flood control channel in Nogales, Sonora. Police checked multiple locations and found the channel mostly dry, with no flowing water.

During continued security checks, Officer Manuel Stimans drove the patrol vehicle into the channel through an access point near the Holbrook Overpass at North Bankard and North Morley avenues. The vehicle became stuck in sand and mud, and officers left it after receiving a warning that water was quickly approaching.

The rushing water later moved the cruiser downstream, where it stopped near North Hohokam Drive by the waste transfer station. No officers were hurt, and the vehicle was recovered the next day. The Arizona Department of Public Safety is helping document the incident, while the Nogales Police Department conducts an administrative investigation.