After police endorsement and DOJ letter, Rep. Gallego feeling heat from progressive groups

After drawing praise for an endorsement by Arizona police, Rep. Ruben Gallego has now drawn anger and disappointment from some Arizona progressives for discouraging the Department of Justice from imposing federal oversight on the Phoenix Police Department.

In a letter to the Justice Department — sent one day after the Arizona Police Association announced it’s backing Gallego in the state’s U.S. Senate race — the congressman said federal investigators “missed the mark” in their examination of Phoenix police.

That nearly three-year investigation concluded in June that Phoenix police have engaged in a “pattern or practice” of using excessive force, acting with bias and violating constitutional and civil rights.

In his letter, Gallego described those violations – “a mere 120 or so unspecified incidents across eight years,” he wrote –  as isolated, not pervasive. And he argued against the need for federal oversight for the city’s police department, a position aligned with some of the Phoenix City Council members, who’ve resisted calls from community groups for the DOJ’s further involvement.

Phoenix police and city officials “already welcome reforms,” he wrote.

Oversight, Gallego wrote, would be best left to local government.

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Police back a 'freaking loser'

When it was announced Monday, the Arizona Police Association’s endorsement was a coup for Gallego’s campaign.

The APA describes itself as an umbrella organization – “an association of associations” – that brings together various law enforcement entities from across the state. In doing so, they represent thousands of law enforcement officers in Arizona.

The week prior, APA President Justin Harris had joined Donald Trump onstage at a rally in Glendale to announce the organization’s support of the former president – someone who Harris said could get our country “back on track and make America great again.”

Also onstage that day, Trump described Gallego as “a freaking loser.”

Days later, the APA endorsed that “loser” – “a Marine combat veteran” who “understands the complexities of modern policing in American society today,” Harris said in a statement.

“The APA does not take our endorsements lightly,” he added. “We recognize the importance of having a U.S. senator that can bring people together to improve society for all. We believe Congressman Gallego will be that U.S. senator.”

It’s an endorsement that should come in handy as Gallego defends his record from the Trump-backed Republican Senate nominee, Kari Lake, who the APA endorsed for governor in 2022.

While a Lake spokesperson accused Gallego of supporting the defunding of police, Harris praised the congressman for backing federal legislation to boost hiring and retention of police officers.

“Congressman Gallego has continually fought for robust, increased funding for America’s law enforcement,” Harris said.

'Just lost my vote'

Gallego’s letter stunned Jared Keenan, legal director of the ACLU of Arizona.

“To act as if (the DOJ’s report) is in some way not accurately reflective of – detailing the significant problems with the Phoenix Police Department, is simply not true,” Keenan said.

The timing of the letter, immediately following the endorsement of the state’s largest independent law enforcement organization, made it worse, he said.

“It seems very transactional,” Keenan said.

“A lot of city officials and Rep. Gallego, they speak about public safety,” he added. “But true public safety cannot ignore constitutional rights. It cannot ignore the violence perpetrated by the Phoenix Police Department on members of our community. And to issue statements like this is, frankly, dangerous, because it will embolden the police not to reform themselves.”

Officials with Poder In Action, a community group that routinely lodges complaints about police treatment of Black, brown and Indigenous communities, called the claims in the letter “a slap in the face” to the communities Gallego represents in Congress.

“It is really just ridiculous to, after all of this evidence, to say that this department can change itself,” executive director Viri Hernandez said. “They haven’t, and that’s the reality.”

Hernandez also said she wasn’t shocked Gallego’s letter came on the heels of the APA endorsement.

“Our community sees the way that police unions, when they support candidates, most of the time — every example we’ve seen — also leads to those candidates pushing back against accountability, transparency,” she said.

Asked whether the police endorsement was tied to the DOJ letter, a spokesperson for the Gallego campaign says there was “no agreement.”

“Ruben Gallego has a record of fighting for Arizona’s law enforcement in Congress and is proud to have the support of the Arizona Police Association,” the spokesperson said.

Poder In Action isn’t in the business of endorsing candidates. As a 501(c)3, they’re barred from intervening in political campaigns. “Our focus is to expose the discrepancies, the lies from any party – Democrats or Republicans,” Hernandez said.

The organization “doesn’t tell folks who to vote for, who to not vote for,” she added.

Neither does the ACLU of Arizona. But personally, Keenan didn’t mince words when he first responded to the letter on X.

“Looks like @RubenGallego just lost my vote.”