The City of Phoenix and Phoenix Police Department are requesting an alternative resolution to a pattern-or-practice investigation of the city and its police department by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
The request was made as part of a letter and report drafted by attorneys for the City and delivered to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on behalf of the City of Phoenix.
The DOJ has been investigating use of force, retaliation against those engaged in First Amendment-protected activities, discriminatory policing, violations of homeless property rights, and responses to people with mental and behavioral disabilities.
“In Phoenix, the heavy hand of federal oversight in the form of a consent decree and an independent monitor is not the appropriate remedy,” one excerpt from the report reads. Instead, a technical assistance letter would allow the DOJ to provide Phoenix remedial recommendations and mechanisms to ensure proper implementation without the presence of a court-enforced consent decree and monitor.
In December, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell weighed-in on the possibility of DOJ involvement.
“MCSO has been under a consent decree since 2015 and is required to run every decision through their court ordered monitor — who, by the way, hasn’t been to their $8,000 a month office, paid for by the Maricopa County taxpayers, in more than three years,” said Mitchell in explaining why she is “not about to give the Justice Department control of Phoenix Police,” said Mitchell referring to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in an opinion piece.
According to the city, the request is being made as the Phoenix Police Department implements a sweeping wave of reforms and improvements, which are the focus of the report. Phoenix claims that these reforms are based on industry best practices and include recommendations proposed by the DOJ in other cities. Some of these reforms date back more than a decade, while many others were implemented under the direction of Interim Police Chief Michael Sullivan. “We need to be a self-assessing, self-correcting agency. And that’s not just something we say,” Sullivan reiterated in a recent video message to the community.
Since joining the Phoenix Police Department, Interim Chief Sullivan has spearheaded a revision of the Use of Force Policy and implemented a transparent community feedback protocol for major policy changes moving forward. New scenario-based trainings have been mandated for both sworn and professional staff at Phoenix PD.
“Although the City and PPD welcome the additional insights that the DOJ findings report may bring, they are not willing to hand over PPD’s continuing reform to a consent decree process that is complicated, expensive, and cedes control to the DOJ, an independent monitor, and a federal judge,” the report states.
The City of Phoenix says it welcomes guidance on next steps from the DOJ, while also remaining committed to the reform process regardless of federal involvement.