Phoenix Felony DUI Lawsuit Alleges Fake DUI Arrest Quota

The Phoenix DUI arrest quota lawsuit is a federal civil rights case filed in December 2025 by Brianna Longoria, a California woman arrested for driving under the influence in downtown Phoenix the day after her wedding despite blowing 0.00 on a breathalyzer and later testing negative for all drugs and alcohol. Longoria is suing the City of Phoenix and two officers for $7 million, alleging the arrest was fabricated to satisfy an unwritten DUI arrest quota inside the Phoenix Police Department. The case, Longoria v. Metheny et al., is pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

What Happened at the Traffic Stop

On the evening of December 29, 2024, Longoria was driving a rental car from her family’s home to a hotel with her new husband when Officer Mary Metheny stopped her near Seventh Street and Washington Street. Metheny cited a red-light violation and a defective tail light. Body-worn camera footage showed the light was green, and Metheny later submitted paperwork to void the citation, acknowledging it was “not accurate.”¹

Metheny moved to field sobriety testing anyway. Longoria passed an eye test and blew what Metheny described on camera as “triple zeroes.” Metheny’s incident report nonetheless claimed Longoria had glossy eyes, dilated pupils, eyelid tremors, and a lack of convergence, observations the lawsuit says are contradicted by the body camera footage and Longoria’s booking photograph.² On camera, Metheny told Longoria, “I do believe that you’re impaired. So I’m going to place you under arrest for DUI,” citing suspected marijuana impairment.

At the precinct, a second officer, Anette Hannah, ran additional testing and noted on her body camera that Longoria’s results were “super, super low, super in the norms.”¹ Blood drawn from Longoria was sent to a laboratory. Results returned in January 2025 negative for all drugs, including marijuana, and for alcohol.²

The Body-Camera Exchange at the Heart of the Case

The central piece of evidence is a body-worn camera recording made at the precinct while Longoria was being processed. In the footage, Officer Hannah tells Metheny she is worried about losing her spot on the DUI enforcement squad.

Hannah: “They’re gonna kick me off squad if I don’t get a DUI. But I’m like, I can’t just conjure one up. I have tried.”
Metheny: “No. There’s nights where I don’t get any. You’re fine.”
Hannah repeats her concern about not being able to produce an arrest.
Metheny: “You can. You can.”³

Longoria’s attorneys, John Sud and Ben Piece, describe the exchange as evidence of a “de facto DUI quota,” an unwritten expectation that officers assigned to DUI squads must produce a minimum number of arrests to keep their positions. “Whether it’s written down or not, it’s clearly from the arresting officers on the ground all the way to the prosecutor,” Piece told reporters. “It seems to be that there’s this mutual understanding.”³

The Phoenix Police Department has denied any quota exists. Spokesperson Mercedes A. Fortune said “DUI enforcement assignments are based on operational needs” and that officers are expected to base arrest decisions on “observed driving behavior, indicators of impairment, and the totality of the circumstances.”⁴ The department declined further comment, citing ongoing litigation.⁵

How the Criminal Case Ended

Longoria was charged with DUI, and her driver’s license was suspended. A prosecutor moved to dismiss the criminal case without prejudice in April 2025.¹ In July 2025, an administrative law judge separately dismissed the suspension of her driving privileges, finding a “lack of reasonable grounds for the arrest.”² Because the criminal dismissal was without prejudice, meaning the charges could theoretically be refiled, the arrest still appears on Longoria’s record. That fact is central to her civil suit.

What the Federal Lawsuit Claims

Longoria filed suit on December 23, 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. The case, Longoria v. Metheny et al. (No. 2:25-cv-04931-MTL-CDB), names the City of Phoenix, Officer Mary Metheny, and Officer Anette Hannah as defendants. Both officers are sued in their individual capacities.⁶

The complaint brings claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of Longoria’s constitutional rights, including malicious prosecution, false arrest and imprisonment, unlawful search, and fabrication of evidence. She is seeking $7 million in compensatory and punitive damages, an order expunging the DUI arrest from her record, and policy changes at the department.⁴ Attorney John Sud told reporters, “We’re trying to correct the policy that is going on here, which is an apparent de facto DUI quota by the officers, because we don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”³

The alleged harms include delays to Longoria’s cervical cancer treatment after she lost her license and identification, damage to her prospects for California nursing school through a drug-related arrest on her record, and financial strain that forced the couple to cancel their honeymoon.⁶

Where the Case Stands

The City of Phoenix moved to dismiss the complaint in February 2026, but Judge Michael T. Liburdi denied that motion as moot after the defendants filed an answer. A case management order issued in March 2026 set a discovery deadline of October 7, 2026 and a dispositive motions deadline of February 19, 2027.⁷

In June 2026, the City of Phoenix filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings, which remains pending. Discovery is ongoing.⁷

The status of the two officers is unsettled. Metheny stated during the July 2025 administrative hearing that she had resigned from the Phoenix Police Department. The department told reporters in April 2026 that both Metheny and Hannah remained employed.³ The department’s Professional Standards Bureau has been reviewing the incident. No findings or disciplinary actions have been publicly disclosed.¹

Arizona Has No Law Against Police Quotas

Longoria’s case is a federal civil rights suit rather than a state statutory claim, and part of the reason is a gap in Arizona law. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, at least 26 states and Washington, D.C. have laws prohibiting police departments from enforcing ticket or arrest quotas.⁵ Arizona is not among them. The legislature considered a ban in 2015 when Rep. David Stevens introduced HB 2410, which would have prohibited departments from using citation counts as a performance metric. Then-Governor Doug Ducey vetoed it, arguing that “no police department currently has quotas” and that the bill would interfere with the evaluation of officers.⁸

Even in states with bans, departments often frame arrest and citation expectations as “performance goals” or “reasonable expectations” rather than quotas, a distinction critics call meaningless on the ground.⁵ Whether the recorded exchange between Metheny and Hannah is evidence of an actual quota or informal shop talk between officers is likely to be a central question as the Longoria lawsuit moves through discovery.

1
ABC15. Lawsuit Alleges Phoenix PD Uses DUI Quotas
2
People. Bride Files Lawsuit Over DUI Arrest Day After Wedding
3
AZFamily. Phoenix Police Made Up Details for DUI Arrest to Meet Quota, Lawsuit Says
4
AZFamily. Woman Describes Why She’s Suing Phoenix Police Over Alleged DUI Quota System
5
USA Today. Police Ticket Quotas
6
Longoria v. Metheny Complaint. Federal Complaint, Case No. 2:25-cv-04931
7
PACER Monitor. Longoria v. Metheny et al
8
Police Magazine. Arizona Governor Vetoes Bill That Would Have Banned Use of Ticket Quantity as Officer Performance Metric