Most of the rank and file of the Phoenix Police Department are members of an influential labor union that negotiates working conditions with the city.
The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association has released a report it says was written by experts who found several significant inaccuracies in Justice Department findings against Phoenix.
The report says dozens of incidents the feds cite as police violence are factually or mostly inaccurate when cross-checked with records released by the city of Phoenix.
One of the authors contributes to a pro-police website called Save Phoenix.
An article on the site links to a podcast posted in June, days after the feds issued findings. Travis Yates told listeners that federal oversight is unconstitutional.
“If you read the 10h Amendment, there is no right of the federal government to be involved in a local government, including law enforcement,” Yates said.
Yates says he worked for the Tulsa Police Department for 30 years.
A union spokesperson says the group did not commission the report, but members were aware the authors were curious to do their own analysis.
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The Department of Justice is awarding a $1.5 million grant to the program to expand the use of DNA testing. Program heads say this cutting-edge but costly technology will allow them to look more deeply into cases and address a growing backlog of cases more quickly. -
Two court-appointed doctors in Arizona deemed Lori Vallow Daybell fit to face charges of conspiring to kill her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, and a niece’s ex-spouse. -
The victim claiming former Pima County Sgt. Ricardo Garcia sexually assaulted her at a 2022 Christmas party testified Wednesday that Garcia’s relationship with Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos prevented her from initially coming forward. -
The U.S. Justice Department says in a new report stemming from the same type of investigation done in Phoenix that police in Memphis routinely violate civil rights. The mayor there gave a similar response to what city leaders here said before they were even told the Phoenix Police Department has systemic problems. -
Five hours of emotional testimony marked the first day witnesses were called to the stand in the sexual assault case against former Pima County Sgt. Ricardo Garcia.
