No Arrest, No Citation but Have to Go to Court

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Arizona

Hello my name is Robert in December I was contacted by the police department and asked to come in for an interview after I was identified by my uniform and lic. plate in an alleged shoplifting at a local store. I went and spoke with the police officer and he stated that it did not show me on camera stealing anything and I was not going to be cited/arrested for the alleged crime. He advised me that asset protection did not want to approach me because I was in uniform and they thought I would assault them. At the beginning of March I received a court summons for the shoplifting charge and today I went to court and plead not guilty and now I go to court again in May. All this court issue has been my word versus the store employee, I was never stopped prior to leaving the store however they said the saw me try and conceal items on my person. Any advice anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated I intend to represent myself in court when the time comes.

What's that old saying.... a man who represents himself has a fool for a client.

We don't know anything about your case beyond what you've told us, so we cannot assess the strength of the prosecutor's case or of your (undescribed) proposed defense. I do suggest consulting a local lawyer with the details.