A Mesa police officer and his wife filed two lawsuits in June in Maricopa County Superior Court alleging that a therapist who had been assigned to help the officer with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder initiated an improper intimate relationship and attempted to interfere with the couple’s marriage. The complaints identify the officer as Brian Jutting and his wife as Kathryn Whalen, and they set out a chain of events that the plaintiffs say began with the therapist’s professional involvement in the officer’s mental-health care.
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A Mesa Police patrol car parked in a residential neighborhood in Mesa, Ariz.; a Mesa officer and his wife are suing a former therapist, alleging the therapist initiated an improper intimate relationship.
The lawsuits name multiple defendants, and the filings tie the legal claims to both the individual therapist and the organizations involved in assigning that therapist to the officer. One of the suits lists Jennifer Cooper, Cooper’s husband, Cooper’s limited liability company, the city of Mesa and the agencies that arranged Cooper’s assignment as co-defendants. The second suit identifies a psychologist, Ajasha Long, Ph.D., and her husband, together with the same set of agencies, as defendants in a separate action brought by the same plaintiffs.
According to court filings, Cooper surrendered her professional counseling license to the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners in July 2025 while an investigation into a complaint against her was underway. The board, after conducting its review, referred the case to law enforcement authorities. The public record available in connection with the filings indicates that, as of the time the complaints were filed and the board action occurred, no criminal charges had been publicly filed in relation to the referral.
The suits allege that the relationship began while Cooper was acting in a professional capacity to treat or assist the Mesa police officer for PTSD-related symptoms. The complaints assert that what began as a therapeutic relationship shifted into an intimate one and that the conduct of the therapist included efforts to disrupt the plaintiffs’ marital relationship. The lawsuits frame those actions as violations of the duty of care and professional responsibilities owed by a mental-health provider to a client receiving treatment through arrangements made by public-safety or governmental entities.
Both civil actions were lodged in Maricopa County Superior Court in June, and they seek relief through the civil-justice system rather than through criminal proceedings. The plaintiffs have targeted not only the clinicians whom they allege engaged in improper conduct but also the agencies and the municipal employer that the complaints say played a role in assigning those clinicians to provide services to the officer. The exact claims and the relief sought are set out in the court papers filed in June; the filings identify Cooper and Long by name and include their spouses among the defendants in the separate lawsuits.
The surrender of Cooper’s counseling license to the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners came after the board opened an investigation prompted by a complaint. The board’s process, as reflected in public documentation tied to the case, concluded with the license surrender and a referral to law enforcement. The referral indicates that the board believed the matter warranted attention beyond its administrative oversight, although the publicly available timeline does not show subsequent criminal charges being filed against the individuals named in the civil suits.
The litigation has placed a spotlight on the intersection of mental-health services and law enforcement support systems. The plaintiffs’ decision to pursue civil claims against clinicians and governmental entities underscores their contention that professional boundaries were breached in a way that caused personal and marital harm. The suits remain active in Maricopa County Superior Court, where the named defendants will be required to respond to the complaints and where the court process will determine what, if any, legal remedies the plaintiffs may obtain. No judgments or rulings resolving the allegations had been recorded publicly at the time the complaints were filed.
ABC15 confirmed Cooper admitted during the July 2025 board hearing to a sexual relationship with the Mesa officer, who began PTSD treatment in 2024 after referrals from current and former department members under a City of Mesa contract citing the Craig Tiger Law. The station reported the couple had earlier filed a $4 million notice of claim against the city.
Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners public records list Jennifer A. Cooper under license LPC-19386 and show a consent agreement with the board dated July 26, 2025, under which she voluntarily surrendered her counseling license and was required to stop providing services within 30 days.
Public professional listings and payroll records indicate Dr. Ajasha M. Long is a licensed psychologist in Arizona (listed as license PSY-005878, active in 2024) and has served as a police psychologist for the City of Mesa while also maintaining private-practice listings that note work with first responders.