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A Tucson police officer who retired after an investigation revealed that he and his sergeant were drinking on the job, said he was acting under the orders of his supervisor.

Officer David Haggerty, a 22-year veteran of the Tucson Police Department, defended his actions on the evening of Jan. 29, which led to the department's serving him with a notice that he was going to be terminated.

He, along with Sgt. Robert Lund, a 21-year veteran, retired March 18 — a day before they were to go before a police termination review committee.

"I don't want to be painted as two officers in plain clothes who were neglecting their duties and running wild, because that's not the case," he said. "Had we developed a lead and made an arrest that night, we would be receiving commendations, not termination."

Haggerty on Tuesday gave the following account of what occurred that evening.

At about 4:30 p.m., he received a call from Lund who invited him to Tucson McGraw's Cantina, 4110 S. Houghton Road, to eat.

"I got the impression that we were there looking for a stop-and-arrest suspect," Haggerty said. "I drank a beer, but that's part of a plainclothes assignment."

Later on, the pair went to Jeff's Pub, 112 S. Camino Seco — a business they frequented in the past to develop leads, Haggerty said.

While there, Haggerty said he was in a back room where people were betting on dog races and he did the same in an effort to blend in.

Haggerty and Lund parted ways at about 10:15 p.m. and Haggerty did not hear from Lund again until he called and said he was having car trouble.

Tucson police were notified at about 11:30 p.m. that a motorist had struck a curb near South Harrison Road and East 22nd Street and was possibly intoxicated.

When Haggerty arrived, he said he found patrol officers around Lund. Tucson police say that Haggerty began yelling at officers and was sent away, but he denied that.

Lund was subsequently arrested on an extreme DUI charge.

After the arrest, an internal investigation began and Haggerty was interviewed. Haggerty told investigators he had one beer but drank nothing further the rest of the night.

He requested another interview in which he admitted to betting on dog racing with Lund and said that he had more than one beer as stated previously.

Haggerty said he requested the second interview because he realized later that it was possible he'd ordered another beer while at Jeff's Pub, but he couldn't recall if he consumed it and wanted to clarify that.

When Haggerty received the intent to terminate, he said he was advised by a union representative that he had "no chance of going before the committee and winning the hearing," he said.

If he did lose, the next step would be to appeal, but that wouldn't occur until four or five months later.

"I wouldn't have any income during that time and it's hard to support your family, make a mortgage payment and car payment on no income," Haggerty said. "I didn't retire because I thought the cards were stacked against us."

Haggerty said that at no time did he feel he was intoxicated and that he was simply following the orders of his supervisor, which was to generate leads at bars as they had done in the past without any problems.

The Tucson Police Department said the gambling and drinking that occurred that night were not work-related.

Department policy states that no plainclothes officer shall drink or purchase alcoholic beverages while on duty except when necessary in the performance of their duty and then only with the approval of their supervisor. The same policy applies to gambling on duty.

"Mr. Haggerty is now offering a third story that is in conflict with the other two he's provided," said Assistant Chief John Leavitt. "The conduct exhibited by both officers in any of the three accounts is unacceptable for members of any law enforcement agency in Arizona and they both knew that."

Leavitt went on to say that neither Haggerty or Lund, who were assigned to the Community Response Team, had an undercover assignment and that frequenting bars in that capacity was going against policy.

"It may have been standard for Haggerty and Lund, but not for those hardworking officers in their unit or in other units across the department — they follow the rules and abide by the law," Leavitt said.

"I wasn't a bad cop," Haggerty said. "Because Lund apparently had too much to drink, I feel I was caught under the Lund umbrella and that's what frustrates me."