The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association is a large and powerful police union that said it would cooperate with a sweeping federal investigation launched 28 months ago.
Now, the group wants the city’s mayor to tell the U.S. Justice Department that Phoenix will not enter into a court-enforced reform agreement.
The union’s current position is that a court-enforced deal with the Justice Department will be costly and limit the Phoenix Police Department’s ability to reform itself.
A spokesperson says this does not conflict with what the union said in August 2021 because they claim that Civil Rights investigators have finished the review and they received the cooperation promised.
The spokesperson also says the union was willing to collaborate with investigators, but the Justice Department did not engage the union.
The Justice Department is declining to comment on the union’s action or whether the investigation of Phoenix and its police department is complete.
