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TUCSON - A controversy is brewing tonight and it involves the mayor's wife.

Did a Tucson police captain pull a patrol officer, from a priority call to help the mayor's wife change her tire?

Our newsroom took several calls from viewers who are outraged. But did this happen?

Grant & Alvernon is an extremely busy intersection. Police once called it the meth epicenter of Tucson.

On Wednesday, around 4pm, Beth Walkup, was on the phone with Captain Dave Neri who is in charge of the midtown division.

Walkup says they were discussing a community project when she realized her tire had blown out.

The head of the Tucson Police Officers Association, Larry Lopez says he learned an officer heading to a priority call to check on someone's welfare was diverted to help Walkup.

Lopez says this all verified on the officer's computer.

He said, "I want to make it clear its not the fact that its Mrs. Walkup this happened too. It's the fact we shouldn't be doing personal favors for anybody. We have such a big problem right now with staffing in the field and staffing within the police department."

Assistant Chief Brett Kline spoke to Captain Neri, who says when Walkup was on the phone with the captain. He said she was being panhandled by a man who offered to fix the tire for cash. Since the Grant and Alvernon area is considered a high crime rate location, Captain Neri became alarmed.

He said, "We felt there was a question of safety as well as a tire being flat. That's why the officer stopped to help her. We re-dispatched the call to another officer and had them handle the call that the officer has been on."

Lopez claims the second officer arrived 15 minutes after the initial call, Chief Kline says it was 2 minutes. They didn't find the man who motorists claim was in the street dodging traffic.

Beth Walkup returned News 4's phone call. She says she was in the process of changing her own tire when the police officer showed up. She also says she has AAA and she would've called them, but said she was running late for an appointment. So, she thought it was quicker to change it herself. She also says her father taught her to change a tire when she was 14 years old.