Protesters were no gang. This was political

The protesters charged four months ago in Phoenix as criminal street gangsters are off the hook — for now.

The charges were nothing less than political prosecution of people who call out police misconduct and a legal system that’s too eager to side with the cops.

Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel and Phoenix City Manager Ed Zuercher took the right first steps by dropping the charges and reassigning officers involved.

But why did it happen in the first place? And why deal with it only after intense media scrutiny? Were the protesters really going to be sent to prison for years for simply annoying the cops?

Unfortunately, we know the answers to those questions.

We know these 17 protesters, including three minors, would have faced an uncertain future in a law and order system where apparently anything goes when nobody is looking.

The protesters took to the streets on Oct. 17 in solidarity of Black Lives Matter. Phoenix police said some of the protesters marched in the road, moved barricades, resisted arrest and threw smoke bombs at them.

And get this: The protesters dared to wear black and carried umbrellas. That, apparently, was sufficient enough for prosecutors to characterize them the same as notorious gangs like the Crips, Bloods and Hells Angels, per an ABC 15 investigation.

The prosecutors slapped them with charges ranging from conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, felonious rioting, unlawful assembly and assisting a criminal street gang.

That was undoubtedly wrong. Adel now says her prosecutors didn’t follow procedures when bringing the charges.

“We are reviewing the evidence to decide next steps in this case and determining if further review of other cases related to the protests this summer is warranted,” Adel said in a statement first reported by ABC 15.

Adel dropped the charges without prejudice only after the ABC 15 investigation caught national attention. But that means she can refile them at a later time — something the defendants’ lawyers had hoped to avoid.

What is she planning to do, charge the protesters again when nobody is paying attention?

Public trust in prosecutors and cops has reached bottom over the past few years because of too many notorious cases of police brutality against minorities, particularly African Americans.

Phoenix cops showed nothing but contempt for the protesters, calling them all sorts of things I don’t want to repeat here.

Zuercher, the Phoenix city manager, said in a statement that he and Police Chief Jeri Williams demand better from police officers.

“The more information we learn, the more concerned I become,” Zuercher said. “I believe the majority of Phoenix Police officers do great work for our community every day. But it’s obvious we have deep rooted issues in the Phoenix Police Department that must be addressed.”

“This department is going to change,” he added. “I demand it. Chief Williams demands it. And the public expects it.” That’s good. But when and how? Zuercher’s office said he’s launching an internal investigation into officers’ behavior related to the Oct. 17 protests and an outside inquiry into the 2017 challenge coin, which was circulated within the department after police shot a protester in the groin.

Nine officers have been reassigned as a result of the two incidents.

Is that enough to regain the public’s trust? Of course not. The officers reassigned are still getting paid, so little or nothing has really changed. And sadly, that might be the end of it — unless the public and media keeps scrutinizing their behavior.

Williams, a 32-year law enforcement veteran, has been at the helm since 2016, and clearly not much has changed despite her willingness to change the department’s culture and be more open with the public about what’s happening within. She’s been hailed nationally as one of the few African American police chiefs on the forefront of police reform.

But that’s no consolation to people like the Oct. 17 protesters, whose lives have been turned upside down since being charged as gangsters.

And certainly no consolation for anybody else who has had to endure Phoenix police officers’ disdain.