Police report details what led to arrest of former Phoenix Suns player in Scottsdale
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A police report sheds new light on the arrest of former Phoenix Suns player Cameron Payne last month in Scottsdale.
Payne was taken into custody in the early morning hours of Friday, June 14, after police responded to a possible disturbance in the area of 68th Street and Chaparral Road.
According to a Scottsdale police report, the situation began around 2:30 a.m. when someone called 911 and said, “I need someone to come to my house,” then hung up. A dispatcher could hear yelling in the background before the call disconnected.
The report says dispatchers tried calling the number back up to four times before the same person answered, saying, “Nothing happened; I apologize.” The report says the caller sounded agitated and identified himself as Terry Johnson.
Two officers arrived at the home moments later and a man, later identified as Payne, answered the door. He reportedly admitted to calling 911 during an argument with his girlfriend.
The report says Payne let officers come in and speak with his girlfriend, who told them “Terry” called 911 as a bluff because he was “trying to prove a point.” She reportedly said they had been arguing and that “Terry” told her that he would call 911 if she didn’t leave.
According to the report, while one officer was speaking with the woman, the other was speaking with Payne, who was refusing to identify himself. The officer told him that he had to provide his name and date of birth as part of the investigation or face arrest.
The report says Payne began arguing with police and once again told them his name was Terry Johnson. After running a record check that came back with no results, the officers told Payne he had provided a false identity.
Payne reportedly began to argue more and told officers to leave. As they moved to the front porch, police said they would leave if he provided his real name and birthdate and that Payne “was blowing this whole thing out of proportion.”
The report continues that Payne said he didn’t feel he had to give his name and continued arguing. He then reportedly shouted that his name was Cameron Payne and said, “If you wanna arrest me for telling you a fake name, congratulations.”
And they did. Payne was placed in handcuffs and arrested on two charges, including refusing to provide a truthful name and giving a false report to law enforcement. He was later booked into the Scottsdale City Jail and released.
Payne played for the Suns for four seasons before being traded a year ago. He was traded again earlier this year to the Philadelphia 76ers.