A top Republican state lawmaker hopes Trump administration appointees at the Justice Department will end the agency’s efforts to oversee the Phoenix Police Department.
Under former President Joe Biden’s administration, the Justice Department released a scathing report that found Phoenix police routinely violated civil rights, and that officers were unconstitutionally violent and discriminated against citizens based on race.
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) said the report is nothing more than a "witch hunt."
In a letter to the DOJ, Petersen asked President Donald Trump’s top civil rights attorney to end the agency’s push for a court-appointed monitor to oversee the Phoenix Police Department.
Petersen also said he spoke with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi about the issue on a recent trip to Washington, D.C.
Petersen claims that the negative information in the previous administration’s report was just a way for “radical activists” to target law enforcement.
He cited claims by the Phoenix Police Sergeants and Lieutenants Association that the DOJ did not report all the facts of the situation accurately.
Petersen congratulated U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon for being confirmed in her new role and asked her to prevent a binding agreement known as a consent decree from being passed.
Petersen wrote that a consent decree would be expensive and discourage police officers from doing their jobs.
Petersen said he’s concerned that federally appointed monitors won’t be responsible to community concerns.
“These consent decrees are nothing more than backhanded attempts to hijack police departments and bring them under the control of the federal government. The consent decrees are unconstitutional and exploited by overreaching presidential administrations,” Petersen wrote.
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