Officers' DNA samples ordered in Phoenix Sergeant Drenth's death

PHOENIX - The ABC15 Investigators have learned that court orders for DNA samples were served Monday on more than two dozen Phoenix police officers in connection with the unsolved death of Sergeant Sean Drenth.

Phoenix Law Enforcement Association President Mark Spencer, whose union represents the officers, confirmed the existence of the court orders.

The officers are the same ones facing indictment or departmental discipline in connection with an off-duty work scheme investigation recently completed by the Arizona Attorney General's Office.

"What is the probable cause being used to issue this court document?" Spencer questioned.

ABC15 has obtained a copy of the search warrant , which provides some insight into what detectives were looking for.

Drenth was found shot to death outside his patrol car in downtown Phoenix on Oct. 18.

Phoenix Public Safety Manager Jack Harris confirmed last week that Drenth would have faced possible indictment for his involvement in the off-duty work probe if he was still alive.

Phoenix homicide detectives continue to investigate Drenth's death.

To date, no suspect information has been released.

When asked about the court orders by ABC15, Harris said, "This was done really in conjunction with the County Attorney's Office ... it helps to eliminate the people that were there ... to ensure that none of them were involved in the case."

When asked what DNA may confirm in this case, Harris said he can’t comment on that at this time.

At a Phoenix police briefing Tuesday afternoon, Sgt. Trent Crump said, "Do we have police officers who are suspects? Absolutely not. Do we have police officers who we are looking at as leads in this case right now, yes we do."

Crump said the investigation into Drenth's death points to three possibilities: that it was "a suicide that is staged to be or made to look like a homicide," "a homicide that has been staged to be a suicide, or we have a homicide that we can't figure out exactly why or how things ended up how they ended up."

"We have said from the very beginning that we're going to do everything possible to determine what happened to Sergeant Drenth and this is where this investigation has taken us now in this phase," Crump said.

The attorney for Richard Chrisman, who is facing charges in the unrelated shooting death of a South Phoenix man, said DNA was not taken from his client. However Chrisman's name is on a list of officers under investigation for allegedly receiving payment for off-duty security work that was not rendered.