Files refute reservist's Iraq story

Haab detained 7 at state rest stop

Robert Anglen
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 3, 2005 12:00 AM

When Patrick Haab was arrested in April for holding seven undocumented immigrants at gunpoint at an Arizona rest stop, the Army reservist described himself as an Iraq war veteran and used that status to generate financial support and sympathy from around the country.

But military records obtained Tuesday by The Arizona Republic show that Haab never served in Iraq and indicate that he was on the verge of being removed from the military because he was paranoid, threatened to kill himself and pulled a knife in an altercation with fellow soldiers.

In February 2004, Haab was removed from his unit in Kuwait, the records show, after he reportedly told a commanding officer during an Arabic cultural awareness class that he "just wants to kill all of the camel jockeys," including a Muslim soldier in his own unit.

As a result of that incident and an apparent suicide attempt moments later, Haab was transferred back to the United States for a mental health evaluation at Fort Bragg and Walter Reed Medical Center, records state.

The records are in stark contrast to the picture Haab painted of himself at the time of his arrest: a dedicated and meritorious soldier who just wanted to return to duty.

Haab refused to talk about his military service or the issues contained in the records when contacted via cellphone Tuesday. "I can't talk," he said. "I have nothing to say."

According to the records, he received counseling for five months and a military official said "he did not think Sgt. Haab was ready to return to duty or become a functioning part of society." Military officials found out that while on "med hold" at Fort Bragg, Haab spent $12,000 on a .50-caliber sniper rifle. They were concerned enough to contact the Surgeon General's Office.

At the end of October 2004, Haab's unit demobilized.

Haab moved to Mesa in January and took a job as an Army reservist in Deer Valley. In previous interviews Haab said that he moved to Arizona to join another military unit and was preparing to go to Afghanistan.

Haab's current military status is unclear. Records and e-mails show that officers in that unit were concerned Haab was hiding his mental-health issues and questioned his fitness for duty.

On April 10, Maricopa County sheriff's deputies arrested Haab and charged him with seven counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after he drew his pistol on seven immigrants in an encounter at a desolate Interstate 8 rest stop.

Haab has repeatedly said his decision to draw his gun was a case of self-defense and said he feared for his life when the immigrants rushed toward him in the darkness.

Haab, who has accused the Sheriff's Office of wrongful arrest and has demanded $1 million in compensation, spent four nights in jail before all of the charges were dismissed by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.

Barnett Lotstein, special assistant to the Maricopa County attorney, said Tuesday that the military records do not affect the decision not to prosecute Haab. "The fact that he had blemishes in his past would not be relevant," he said.

County Attorney Andrew Thomas dismissed charges against Haab because of a state law that allows citizens to make an arrest when a felony has been committed. According to Thomas, all seven of the immigrants were committing felonies: the smuggler in planning the operation and the six immigrants in "conspiring" to illegally cross the border.

Haab's arrest and subsequent release triggered a storm of protest on both sides of the immigration issue and has prompted a review by the U.S. Department of Justice to determine if Haab violated federal civil rights laws.

Haab maintained that race had nothing to do with his decision to stop the immigrants, but following his arrest he became a celebrity on conservative talk radio and television shows where he said immigrants were turning the country into "Americo," a combination of America and Mexico.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Tuesday that the military records speak for themselves.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again: You don't pull guns on people because of the color of their skin," the sheriff said, adding that the decision to arrest Haab was the right one. "I will continue to defend my deputies. They made the right decision."

The Sheriff's Office collected Haab's military records as part of its investigation and released them to The Republic, which filed a request under the state's open records law.

Haab played up his military service in jail interviews after his arrest and on a Web site dedicated to building his defense fund, which refers to Haab as a sergeant and pictures him in full military dress.

A local resident who put up Haab's $10,000 bail bond said he wanted to help the soldier. Haab and his family said repeatedly that they had gotten support from veterans across the country, who have described Haab as a hero and patriot.

Haab joined the reserves in 2001 and served with distinction in a civil affairs battalion in Kosovo, where he was awarded multiple service medals.

Records show that military officials became concerned that Haab was experiencing stress related problems at the end of his service in Kosovo in 2003. They say by the time he transferred with his unit to Kuwait in 2004, he had become "distant, uninterested in training and paranoid."

In media interviews, Haab acknowledged taking doctor-prescribed anti-depressants while in the military, saying he was suffering from stress after his friend died in a roadside bombing. There is no mention of that in the records.

According to the records, military officials said that when Haab's unit was delayed in the Czech Republic because of an aircraft problem, "Sgt. Haab thought it was a conspiracy to blow up the hotel with the entirety of his (unit) in it."

Two months after arriving in Kuwait, the records state, Haab was pulled out of the cultural awareness class by his superior and ordered to talk to a chaplain. A few hours later, he became distraught, threatened to commit suicide and got into a scuffle with military officials attempting to take away a hidden knife.

Haab's lawyer, Douglas Loefgren, said Tuesday that he could not comment on the records because he had not had a chance to review them. He questioned if the records should have been released at all.

Poster Comment:

Loon, or not, he still did the job that the border patrol won't.

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