Phoenix has spent more than $10 million on the U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the city’s Police Department.
According to the city, employees provided the DOJ with about 180,0000 documents, 22,000 body-worn camera videos and 20 terabytes of data.
Phoenix said, as of June 30, personnel costs equaled $8.6 million, outside lawyers and consultants cost $1.6 million and contracts, and commodities and miscellaneous expenses totaled $450,000.
On June 13, the DOJ announced the Police Department has a “pattern or practice” of violating constitutional and civil rights. The DOJ’s allegations include:
- PhxPD uses excessive force, including unjustified deadly force and other types of force.
- PhxPD and the City unlawfully detain, cite, and arrest people experiencing homelessness and unlawfully dispose of their belongings. This is the first time the Department has found a pattern or practice of conduct that focuses on the rights of people experiencing homelessness.
- PhxPD discriminates against Black, Hispanic, and Native American people when enforcing the law.
- PhxPD violates the rights of people engaged in protected speech and expression.
- PhxPD and the City discriminate against people with behavioral health disabilities when dispatching calls for assistance and responding to people in crisis.
City staff have reviewed the DOJ’s 37 recommended remedial measures and compared them to current policies and policies in progress. City Manager Jeff Barton said a plan is underway to address gaps and Phoenix looks forward to collaborative conversations with the DOJ.
City staff have identified many of the 100-plus incidents mentioned in the DOJ report and published a website containing internal investigative reports associated with them at dojrecords.phoenix.gov.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The story has been updated to correct the number of incidents mentioned in the DOJ report.
