How Phoenix City Council is addressing the Department of Justice report into police department

For the first time, the Phoenix City Council publicly discussed the Department of Justice investigation into the police department.

In June, the DOJ announced Phoenix engages in a  "pattern or practice" of violating constitutional and civil rights. City leaders hope to avoid federal oversight by highlighting changes already underway and future plans.

During Tuesday’s council session, the Police Department presented some initiatives they started before and during the DOJ investigation like body-worn cameras and an updated use of force policy. The department reviewed the DOJ’s recommendations and came up with what they call 300 deliverables, with some taking effect within six months, others taking more than two years. 

In addition, the council unanimously directed staff to pursue recommendations suggested in a memo submitted by Mayor Kate Gallego, Councilman Kevin Robinson and Councilwoman Kesha Hodge Washington.

“We know what needs to be done. Let's go ahead and get it done,” said Robinson, a retired Phoenix officer and chair of the council’s public safety subcommittee.

Among the recommendations in their memo was a directive that officers collect data on stops, searches, arrests and use of force — at a minimum to include age, race, gender and housing status. The DOJ said officers disproportionately target communities of color.

“For me, reestablishing and strengthening community trust, along with ensuring constitutional policing, were at the heart of my input into this proposal,” said Washington. “Some key excerpts from the reforms that I think will significantly impact our community trust, as mentioned, was more thoroughly documenting our police activity through enhanced data collection on stop searches and use of force.I think the transparency is important to rebuilding trust. It also helps to provide accountability and provide an objective record of community and police interaction”

Other changes include a hotline for citizens to report potential misconduct and providing written responses to complainants that explain the investigations' findings. 

During more than two hours of public comment, council members heard mostly from people critical of police. They urged city leaders to spend less on the police department and more on behavioral health services and programs to support unhoused people and prevent homelessness.

Councilmember Carlos Galindo-Elvia said Tuesday’s action is not meant to remedy everything, “It is meant to make an honest attempt to do something. To sit on our hands would be the greater sin. To do something for the community, on behalf of the community, with the community is the better option.”

In the coming months, the city will host meetings to gather public input and share details on the police department’s plan to address the 37 recommendations from the Department of Justice report.

In addition to the police department’s internal review of the DOJ report, the council directed staff to pursue the following:

 I. Thoroughly Document Police Activity 

• The Police Department shall more effectively collect data on all stops, searches, arrests and uses of force to include — at a minimum — the involved citizen’s age, race, gender and housing status.

 • The Police Department’s Performance Compliance Team shall regularly audit a sample of police reports to ensure that officers are correctly applying the Fourth Amendment, including providing sufficient basis for reasonable suspicion in making stops and probable cause for searches. Audits shall be used as a tool for identifying training deficiencies and opportunities. Findings shall be shared with the City Council and the Civilian Review Board on no less than an annual basis. 

II. Improving the Police Department’s Investigative and Evaluative Process

 • The Police Department shall create a new Inspections Sergeant position in all precincts and other bureaus who report directly to the Professional Standards Bureau (PSB). Any misconduct that appears could rise to the level of a written reprimand shall be investigated by the Inspections Sergeant, which will allow Patrol Sergeants to remain on the streets supervising their direct-report officers. Misconduct that appears may rise to the level of suspension, demotion, termination shall be investigated by PSB investigators.

 • The PSB manual, which is currently undergoing extensive revisions, shall provide clear standards for the thoroughness of investigative reports. The manual shall also set clear standards for reviewing all relevant evidence available in an investigation.

 • When conducting investigations, PSB shall review all aspects of the incident — including those beyond the scope of the initial complaint — for compliance with Police Department policies and training, as well as applicable laws.

 • PSB use of force investigations must fully explore whether an officer(s) effectively considered de-escalation strategies and tactics during the incident in question. PSB shall further explore and document how an officers perceive their actions and decision-making within the framework of policies and training, as well as applicable laws.

 • The Police Department shall provide or procure regular and ongoing training for all PSB investigators.

 • The Police Department’s investigative bodies (such as PSB and the Critical Incident Review Board) may not provide mere conclusory declarations such as “sustained,” “unfounded,” “unresolved,” “exonerated,” “within policy” or “out of policy.” The Department shall, in all circumstances, provide a thorough and complete analysis and rationale for all investigative findings and conclusions. PSB investigations shall further categorize the totality of the officer’s actions as Class 1, Class 2, or Class 3 (as defined by Police Department Operations Order 3.18) and shall identify opportunities for improvement, if any, during the incident. 

• PSB shall set and publish clear deadlines for completing investigative reports. If a report is completed beyond the deadline, the reasons for delay shall be articulated at the end of the report. 

III. Fully Considering and Analyzing Citizen-Initiated Complaints 

• PSB shall collect and record data for all citizen complaints, including the nature of the complaint and precinct and officer(s) involved. The Department shall regularly review the data and its trends to determine whether additional training may be necessary throughout a particular precinct or the Department, and provide the data (not including personal identifying information) and its analysis of the data to the City Council and the Civilian Review Board on no less than an annual basis.

 • PSB shall provide a written response to the citizen complainant explaining the investigation’s findings. 

• The City shall create a dedicated hotline for citizens to report potential officer misconduct to PSB.

IV. Adopting the Highest Standards of Professional Accountability

 • The Department shall adopt clear standards and accountability measures for PSB investigators, supervisors and commanders to ensure that all potential law and policy violations are fully investigated, and — if required — referred to the Critical Incident Review Board. 

• PSB shall establish a clear policy for forwarding Brady materials as timely as possible to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and other relevant outside agencies. 

• When making deviations of discipline from the Disciplinary Review Board, the Police Chief shall fully explain the rationale for doing so and explain why the deviation is in the best interest of the Department and the community. The City Manager must approve all recommendations for downward deviations of discipline. In a manner that protects the confidentiality of individuals under review, the City Council shall receive an annual report regarding the recommendations of the Disciplinary Review Board.

 • The Disciplinary Review Board shall add one additional citizen to its membership, for a total of three citizens. 

V. Expanding the Use of Body-Worn Cameras

 • The Police Department shall develop and implement a policy for Special Assignments Unit officers to use body-worn cameras when engaging with the public and adopt policies regarding the disclosure of the unit’s footage in accordance with state public records laws. 

VI. Fully Staff the City’s Dispatcher Team • Continue efforts to prioritize staffing levels for 911 and Radio Dispatchers (including evaluating additional increases in pay) to alleviate the current high vacancy rate. Staffing at full levels will create the coverage necessary to improve training opportunities for all dispatchers. 

• The Fire Department’s Community Assistance Program shall have 24/7 dispatch coverage by the end of the first quarter 2025.

 VII. Update Policies for Appropriately Interacting with Young and Vulnerable Populations

 • The Police Department shall create policies with community input regarding interactions with young and vulnerable populations including the unsheltered community and those with behavioral health challenges that include special considerations for consensual contacts, use of force, interviews, and interrogations.

 • The Police Department shall provide training to its officers on how to best utilize crisis intervention resources (such as the Crisis Intervention Team) as well as services provided by the Community Assistance Program and the Office of Homeless Solutions.

 • The Police Department shall adopt policies that allow the Crisis Intervention Team to prioritize urgent or time-sensitive matters over duties that are not core to the CIT mission. 

VIII. Other Ongoing Efforts

 • The Police Department shall continually survey the best practices of similarly-situation law enforcement agencies throughout the nation and update its own policies and training to ensure that Phoenix is employing nationally-recognized best practices.

 • The Police Department shall enhance customer service training for officers and staff who engage with members of the public.

 • Professional staff shall update the City Council and the Civilian Review Board on the Police Department’s compliance with recommendations by the Office of Accountability and Transparency every six months.

 • Professional staff shall update the City Council and the Civilian Review Board of its progress on the aforementioned public safety reforms in writing every three.