Phoenix chief reflects on protests, policing
‘We have to listen to one another’
Like many police chiefs across the country, Phoenix Chief Jeri Williams has denounced the death of George Floyd, the black man killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis, while at the same time struggling to support her officers and maintain peace in the midst of the resulting protests.
But Williams comes at the situation from a unique perspective.
She’s one of only a handful of black female police chiefs in the nation. And she’s a mother with black sons.
“The level of voice that we’re seeing now is unlike anything that the world has ever seen, especially in the United States of America,” Williams said.
Unlike other acts of deadly force by police officers, this one has created a pivotal moment in American history, Williams said in an interview with The
Arizona Republic. And she believes it could change the way police officers do their jobs.
Williams was appointed police chief in 2016, overseeing law enforcement in the nation’s fifth-largest city. She described the deadly episode in Minneapolis as “horrific.”
But what happened there is something that religious leaders, activists
and some city leaders have said has repeatedly occurred in Phoenix. For years, activists have decried the high rate of police shootings in Phoenix.
Phoenix’s own history
Williams said she recognizes that the anger from protesters in Phoenix also stems from instances of fatal police shootings locally.
“Yes, people are angry. People are frustrated. People are beside themselves. People don’t want the Police Department funded,” she said.
She said the Phoenix Police Department has adopted changes in its effort to be more transparent, including outfitting officers with body cameras. But, she said, the Police Department can’t make policy changes on its own because her officers have to follow the law.
She did not mention any specific changes she would like to see happen going forward to help prevent another death such as Floyd’s.
She said the community members asking for change need to understand that there are rules and processes that need to be followed in order to change any policy. She said people who want specific changes need to contact their elected officials.
“I’m not going to say what policies or rules I want changed. I really want to hear that from the community,” Williams said. “I really want to see what the rub is for them so we can work through the process of making whatever adjustments we need to while at the same time making sure we’re in the confines of the law, policy and procedure.”
High rate of Phoenix police shootings
In June 2019, The Republic analyzed several years of police shootings statewide.
It found the Phoenix Police Department had a high shooting rate compared with cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Dallas or Houston, places with populations much larger or similar to Phoenix.
It also found that Phoenix police shootings from 2010 to 2019 were concentrated in lower- to middle-class neighborhoods where people of color are the majority.
The Republic was able to identify 96% of people’s race and ethnicity for
Phoenix police shootings. It found that Hispanic people were the most often shot and Black and Native American people were disproportionately shot when compared with their population numbers in the city.
Phoenix makes changes
It’s been a year since the Phoenix case of Dravon Ames and his family made national news.
A white Phoenix officer, Christopher Meyer, who has since been fired, pointed a gun at Ames, who is black, threatening to shoot him in front of his thenpregnant fiancee and children.
As a result of this case and a record number of police shootings for the Police Department in 2018, Williams has implemented some changes.
For example, the Police Department has started to collect data each time an officer points a firearm at a person. Preliminary analysis of that data indicated those incidents have disproportionately involved black people compared to their population in the city.
Phoenix police have begun publishing police shooting data on the department’s website and releasing summary videos, including on-body camera footage, of police shootings.
The City Council has also approved creating a civilian review board, which will independently investigate public complaints of police use-of-force cases
and shootings.
‘Show how amazing we are’
These are all changes Williams said she welcomes and that help provide transparency. She said she doesn’t mind the scrutiny.
“I’ve said this before on tape, and off tape, that the Phoenix Police Department isn’t afraid to be observed by outsiders,” she said. “We welcome the opportunity to share and show how amazing we are.”
She pointed to three police officers who took a knee along with protesters during the fifth night of protests on Monday night.
Kneeling has become a symbol against racial inequality and police violence. The action was started by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who was widely criticized for kneeling during the national anthem before football games.
“In my opinion, just a pure show of what my agency is. It’s a pure show of peace. I couldn’t tell you that any of those folks who knelt yesterday had the idea in their mind that at 8 o’clock last night that they were going to kneel,” she said.
While some applauded the three officers’ actions, others have said it doesn’t erase the past police violent actions officers have taken against people.
Williams said she recognizes that moving forward, hard conversations need to happen between residents and police leadership.
“The path and the way forward is having those conversations that are not comfortable, that are rough, that are challenging,” she said. “But we have to listen to one another.”
Previous conversations
Since Williams became chief, thousands of people have attended council meetings and forums designed for people to share their concerns about the Police Department and offer suggestions for improvement.
Lasts summer, the city held a several-hour “community listening session” after cellphone video of Meyer pointing his gun at Ames went viral.
At that time, residents asked for increased transparency from the department and quicker discipline for officers who act out of policy.
Many people who’ve protested in the wake of Floyd’s death are still calling for those same changes, including additional money to equip the recently approved civilian review board.