DOJ: 'Pattern' of Civil Rights Violations in Phoenix Police Department

Facts

• A report from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) into the police force of Phoenix, Arizona, alleges that the agency has a 'pattern or practice' of violating the civil rights of, or using excessive force against, racial minorities and other groups.¹
• The DOJ investigation into the Phoenix Police Department (PPD) began in 2021. In terms of racial discrimination, the DOJ claims that Black and Hispanic motorists were 144% and 40% more likely to be arrested for low-level violations, respectively.²
• Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said the report reveals 'long-standing dysfunction' stemming from 'a lack of effective supervision, training and accountability.' 'Improper use' of deadly force was a key finding, Clarke said.³
• The report examines abuse allegations from 2016 to 2022 and includes instances of 'indiscriminate' use of force, especially against those with mental health issues, and notes that four out of 10 people arrested in Phoenix were homeless.⁴
• Phoenix led the nation in fatal police shootings in 2018, with 22, and was host to 12 in 2023. The DOJ suggested it plans to present the PPD with a consent decree, a legally binding improvement plan, in lieu of filing a lawsuit against the force.⁴
• A local police union called the report misleading, while the PPD said it was analyzing the report. The DOJ has initiated 11 investigations into law enforcement since 2021.³

Sources: ¹Guardian, ²Associated Press, ³BBC News and ⁴New York Times.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by Arizona Capitol Times. The PPD, like many law enforcement agencies around the country, has a pattern of treating the constitutional rights of those around them with contempt. Phoenix police have demonstrated a pattern of excessive force and discrimination, and it is a shame that the federal government needed to intervene before things changed. The police cannot be trusted to police themselves.
• Right narrative, as provided by The Arizona Republic. Phoenix cooperated extensively with the DOJ and is being rewarded with a potential consent decree, which is the kiss of death for any police department that wants to be effective at fighting crime. It has been 10 years since the DOJ issued a report without a consent decree, which will hand over most of the PPD's power to the federal government. The PPD will be suffocated by federal bureaucracy under this civil rights guise.

Predictions