The U.S. Department of Justice has never said why investigators were sent to do a sweeping review of Phoenix and its police department.
Finishing the work took them more than 1,000 days.
Blistering results came in June in the form of a lengthy report and prepared comments.
“The Phoenix Police Department trains officers that escalation is de-escalation, meaning that you could escalate a situation with force, including deadly force, in order to defuse it,” said Kristen Clarke, U.S. assistant attorney general for civil rights.
Phoenix had issued a preemptive response months earlier. City officials hoped self-imposed reforms would convince the DOJ to only make recommendations.
When the Justice Department’s findings finally became public, reporters kept asking Clarke if federal officials would seek court-monitored oversight of Phoenix police.
“A consent decree has been the vehicle that has helped to institute the reforms necessary to address the kind of serious violations set forth in this report today,” Clarke said.
Excessively violent
Roughly three months have passed since the DOJ told city officials their police department has systemic problems which rob people of their civil rights. The city council is scheduled to talk about homelessness, police reform and issues raised by the DOJ at a Sept. 24 meeting.
According to federal officials, Phoenix police are excessively violent to the point of abusing the Fourth Amendment.
The report also says that Phoenix police use unreasonable force to quickly dominate people and don’t use basic strategies, such as time and distance, to avoid violence.
One example cited in the report is when Phoenix officers killed a man in the fall of 2022, shortly after a new chief arrived.
Ali Osman was throwing rocks into traffic near 19th and Glendale avenues. A wrongful death lawsuit by his family alleged that two officers were led back to confront Osman, instead of waiting for help they’d requested.
Phoenix later settled with Osman's family for $5.5 million.
“We made the facts very clear up front about what this was. Where the wrong was. And couched it in such a way that you can’t deny it. There is no way of getting out of this,” said Quacy Smith, an attorney representing Osman’s family.
Interim Chief Michael Sullivan fired one of the officers who shot Osman. But Jesse Johnson is seeking reinstatement by the Civil Service Board, which is scheduled to discuss the request in secret during executive session on Thursday.
“Would it be a good decision for the city? I don’t think so. Not after you just wrote a $5.5 million check," said Smith.
Smith used to be a police officer in Blythe. Now he’s a civil rights lawyer and Democrat challenging Congressman Paul Gosar.
“Doesn’t matter what the Justice Department’s report is if the city does not enter into some agreement with them. And fix stuff,” said Smith.
In January, city officials told the DOJ they wanted recommendations for improving the police department — not oversight like the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, which has been watched by a monitor since 2014.
Foundational change
A document titled Road to Reform is the city’s evidence of self-correction over time, changes in progress and a commitment to always improve.
“We aspire to be self-assessing, self correcting. That's the guide that I've given folks since I've been here,” said Sullivan.
Most of Sullivan’s tenure has been spent rebuilding the Police Department’s use of force policy. He expects to have all officers trained by the end of the year.
One change the city highlights for the DOJ is that Sullivan’s code is higher than the constitutional minimum.
He expects officers to only shoot at suspects when it’s truly essential, not merely justifiable. Sullivan called the change foundational.
“I think we have high standards at the Phoenix Police Department. And we hold ourselves with that standard. And that's the way we build trust with (the) community,” said Sullivan.
Sullivan said he discovered he’s a reformer as a member of the Louisville Metro Police Department.
Then, Sullivan learned how to affect change at the Baltimore Police Department, which has been under federal oversight since 2017.
“I can tell you, as somebody who's worked under a consent decree, it slows down the speed of change. And that's one of the things that would concern me,” said Sullivan.
The findings report for Phoenix cites Baltimore as an example of where real police reform is underway.
And federal officials acknowledge Sullivan’s efforts since his arrival, but also write that Phoenix police need to be held accountable to make the changes the DOJ wants.
Read the full DOJ report on Phoenix police
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KJZZ's "Policing the Police" series examines the U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation of Phoenix by section, as well as the city's efforts to self-impose reforms. -
Our "Policing the Police" series examines the U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation of Phoenix by section, as well as the city's efforts to self-impose reforms. This time, KJZZ News focuses on the finding that Phoenix police don't change their approach when dealing with children. -
KJZZ's "Policing the Police" series examines the U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation of Phoenix by section, as well as the city's efforts to self-impose reforms. This report focuses on the finding by the DOJ that Phoenix police unlawfully restrict free speech. -
Our "Policing the Police" series examines the U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation of Phoenix as well as the city's efforts to self-impose reforms. This time, KJZZ News examines the finding that the city of Phoenix and its police discriminate against people with mental illnesses. -
KJZZ's "Policing the Police" series examines the U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation of Phoenix by section, as well as the city's efforts to self-impose reforms. This report focuses on the DOJ finding that police discriminated against Black, Hispanic and Native American people when enforcing the law. -
KJZZ's "Policing the Police" series examines the U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation of Phoenix by section, as well as the city's efforts to self-impose reforms. This report focuses on homelessness. -
KJZZ's "Policing the Police" series examines the U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation of Phoenix by section, as well as the city's efforts to self-impose reforms. KJZZ News has divided the findings on use of force into deadly and less lethal. This report focuses on the latter.
