wife beating pig jailed Original Article Officer shot, booked on violence counts Emily Bittner The Arizona Republic Dec. 29, 2004 12:00 AM Phoenix police arrested one of their officers Tuesday on charges of domestic violence after his wife said she shot him several times to defend herself. Detective Billy Soza, a 25-year officer, was booked on two counts of aggravated assault and one count of kidnapping, said Sgt. Randy Force, a spokesman for the department. Soza, 53, was released from St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center about 4:30 p.m. and booked into Madison Street Jail, Force said. He spent most of Tuesday recovering from gunshots to the face, chest, shoulder and left hand. His wife, 44-year-old Pamela Soza, was not taken into custody. Soza's most recent assignment is as a property crimes investigator for the city's south side, where he has investigated fraud schemes targeting the elderly. He also has been a member of the department's SWAT-like Special Assignments Unit. Soza was shot Monday night during a domestic dispute involving his wife, Force said. Their 19-year-old daughter was also at the house, in the 10900 block of West Roma Avenue, during the shooting just before 11 p.m. Their daughter didn't witness the suspected assault, but saw the shooting, Force said. Afterward, one of the people inside the house called 911, and the first officers on the scene found Soza in a bedroom. Pamela Soza told officers that she shot her husband in self-defense, Force said. She claimed she was assaulted just before the shooting and used a handgun that was in the home. The gun was not Soza's service weapon, Force said. Soza told police investigators that he thinks his behavior contributed to the situation, Force said. "He made statements to the detectives that he shared some responsibility in what took place," Force said. The department's Professional Standards Bureau will investigate the incident to determine whether department policies were violated, Force said. There have been no reports to police of domestic violence to the couple's home, Force said. According to a Police Department file on Soza, during the past five years internal investigators have sustained no complaints against him and he has no outstanding complaints. The department keeps the records for five years. Soza was a long-range reconnaissance patrol officer in Vietnam and is well-liked around the department, Force said. "Many fellow officers will be shocked to hear that he was in a domestic violence incident," Force said. Reach the reporter at emily.bittner@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-4783.