As can be expected, spokespeople for Phoenix PD objected...to the findings documenting and publicizing their behavior, not the underlying behavior itself.
From AZFamily, written by , , , and
Justice Department finds Phoenix PD used excessive force, discriminated against certain groups
Following a nearly three-year investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice has found that the Phoenix Police Department violated people’s rights, discriminated against certain groups and has used excessive force, including “unjustified deadly force.”
A 126-page report released Thursday morning says the department discriminates against certain races, as well as people with behavioral health disabilities. The report also found that Phoenix police detain and arrest people who are homeless without reasonable suspicion that they committed a crime and unlawfully dispose of their belongings.
“A person’s constitutional rights do not diminish when they lack shelter,” the report says.
The AZFamily article contains the report itself; I recommend downloading it in its entirety...if a reader is in search of some light reading.
According to an article from Phoenix' Channel 15, the City of Phoenix rebutted the findings with "But that's not us NOW."
Again, I recommend downloading response from the City of Phoenix.
The head of the Phoenix police union, Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, or PLEA, has already issued threats to reduce staffing at Phoenix PD.
From Phoenix' Channel 12, written by Joe Dana, dated 6/13 -
Supporters rally around Phoenix officers amid DOJ criticism
The law enforcement community came to the defense of rank-and-file Phoenix police officers after a damning report from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Phoenix Police union leader Darrell Kriplean says the chance of a multi-year federal court monitor would hurt a department already struggling to fill its ranks.
“It would decimate morale,” said Kriplean of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association. “I think you would see a lot of our officers, the senior officers, maybe retire early, or some of our younger officers make lateral moves to a department that isn't constrained by DOJ.”
It seems like Kriplean has issued an "or else" statement, as in "let us continue to be bigoted and violent toward the public on the public's dime or else we're going to leave you on your own."
It's easy to forget that base of the reports, denials, and articles are some real world victims.
From Phoenix' Channel 12, written by Jonathan McCall, dated 6/15 -
He was new to Arizona and out on an afternoon drive. Then the Phoenix police arrested him.
In 2022, then 44-year-old Jeffery Henderson moved to Arizona from Texas looking for a fresh start in life.
“I moved to Arizona for the opportunities as an electrician and I thought this was a place that I could call home for years to come,” Henderson said.
In June 2022, the Army veteran says he received an unpleasant greeting from Phoenix Police while driving near 19th and Dunlap avenues while out for an afternoon drive. The experience is one his attorney shared with the United States Department of Justice, and as a 34-month investigation into the conduct of the Phoenix Police Department found, not an uncommon experience.
Or
From the Innocence Project -
Ray Krone
On the morning of December 29, 1991, the body of the thirty-six year old victim was found, nude, in the men's restroom of the Phoenix, Arizona bar where she worked. She had been fatally stabbed, and the perpetrator left behind little physical evidence. Blood at the crime scene matched the victim's type, and saliva on her body came from someone with the most common blood type. There was no semen and no DNA tests were performed.
Investigators relied on bite marks on the victim’s breast and neck. Upon hearing that the victim had told a friend that a regular customer named Ray Krone was to help her close up the bar the previous night, police asked Krone to make a Styrofoam impression of his teeth for comparison. On December 31, 1991, Krone was arrested and charged with murder, kidnapping, and sexual assault.
At his 1992 trial, Krone maintained his innocence, claiming to be asleep in his bed at the time of the crime. Experts for the prosecution, however, testified that the bite-marks found on the victim’s body matched the impression that Krone had made on the Styrofoam and a jury convicted him on the counts of murder and kidnapping. He was sentenced to death and a consecutive twenty-one year term of imprisonment, respectively. Krone was found not guilty of the sexual assault.
From KJZZ, written by Kirsten Dorman, dated 6/14 -
Victims of police violence and their families gather in downtown Phoenix
Victims of police violence and their families gathered in downtown Phoenix on Friday to tell their stories and support accusations of racial discrimination in policing in the Department of Justice’s recently released report.
Dravon Ames, his then-pregnant fiancée and their two young daughters received nearly half a million dollars from the city of Phoenix in 2020 for what happened when officers who suspected them of shoplifting were seen on video pointing guns at the family.
"I was beaten up by the cops and Tased and choked unconscious. And it just got completely dismissed," Ames said.
One officer was fired, and another received a written reprimand.
Employment termination? A written reprimand? For assault with a deadly weapon?
If members of civil society who engaged in such violent behavior were subjected to the same penalties, society would soon fall into chaos.
Kind of like the Phoenix Police Department.
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