In 2021, months before the Justice Department came to town, Phoenix police were doing security for city workers cleaning an infamous part of downtown called "The Zone," which held a homeless encampment.
Body camera footage shows a man recording cellphone video of officers as they arrest someone.
A sergeant walks over and tells him to get off the sidewalk and keep going. The man replies that he’s allowed to stand where he is. Then the sergeant asks for the man’s identification. He replies that he doesn’t have any.
As the man is being handcuffed after refusing to give his name and birth date, he says he recorded the whole encounter.
“So did we,” replies the sergeant. “It will be great video footage for the judge.”
Records show charges against the man were dismissed.
Phoenix police investigated what happened and determined that having cited the man was not within policy.
In a document dated after the DOJ released their report, a supervisor counseled the sergeant that engaging with the man took his focus off the assignment to protect city staff.
The U.S. Department of Justice says that what distinguishes a free country from a police state is the freedom to challenge or oppose law-enforcement action.
But civil rights investigators found that Phoenix police retaliate against people exercising the right to free speech with violence and bogus allegations.
City officials say the police department’s reformed policy and protocol draws on the best practices from outside agencies, including some already being watched by the DOJ.
Protesters stood against barriers downtown on a hot August night in 2017. Shortly after President Donald Trump’s rally ended, the DOJ says Phoenix police unleashed tear gas on peaceful protesters.
Images of a man being hit with a rubber projectile went viral.
Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for civil rights, said Phoenix police made a souvenir that’s usually a memento for bravery.
“This challenge coin instead depicted a protester whom an officer shot in the groin with a 40-millimeter impact round,” said Clarke.
The DOJ says the coin contains hate speech, and Phoenix police were still celebrating the incident in training sessions years later.
“When police officers abuse their power to silence people asserting their constitutional rights to free speech and assembly, it erodes the community's trust in law enforcement,” said Clarke.
In 2020, as the pandemic raged, the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police drew protests across the country.
City of Phoenix officials say the size, intensity and duration of local demonstrations was unprecedented.
Scandal struck again when it emerged that Phoenix police falsely accused one group of protesters of being in a street gang.
“This has been kind of a longstanding thing. We’ve known the city has major civil rights problems,” said Steve Benedetto, an attorney representing people hit with bogus gang allegations who sued the city after their cases were dismissed.
Benedetto said actions by Phoenix police communicated that felony charges were the cost of criticizing law enforcement under the First Amendment.
“That was the message that was sent. And it left a mark. The vast majority of the folks that we represented that have gone out for like one or two protests have not protested again,” said Benedetto.
Phoenix acknowledges both scandals as times when police fell short in their treatment of protesters.
A big change the city highlights for the DOJ is Phoenix police having remade its protest response unit.
“The last two years, we've had a number of protests since I've been here, and what I've seen is our officers do what they're supposed to do is protect people's first amendment rights and their ability to protest,” said interim Chief Michael Sullivan.
New policies set a clear line between what is activity protected by the First Amendment and civil disturbance, Sullivan said.
Efforts in Phoenix, officials told the DOJ, are in line with reforms and recommendations made in other places.
“I think it's important for the Department of Justice to know that we were looking at what was going on in other cities,” said Sullivan.
The DOJ mentions Sullivan by name 13 times in their report, acknowledging his reform efforts.
Sullivan said he draws no message from it. His focus is on continuous improvement.
