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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