Protesters demand oversight of police
Funding urged for civilian review board
Activists who have long called for civilian oversight of the Phoenix Police Department are asking the Phoenix City Council to decrease the department’s funding by 25% and fully fund an Office of Accountability and Transparency.
The civil unrest that followed the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers has rekindled debate over the amount of money the city invests in police and the current lack of an independent civilian oversight board.
The council was expected to cast an initial vote on the city’s $1.3 billion annual budget Wednesday evening.
More than 1,000 people commented virtually on the Phoenix budget before the start of the council meeting and more than 183 people had requested to speak.
The proposed budget includes $27 million in cuts to account for expected revenue losses associated with COVID-19. It also includes $1 million in new spending, including $400,000 for a new Office of Accountability and Transparency, which will house a civilian review board.
Before and during Wednesday’s meeting, hundreds of protesters surrounded the Phoenix City Council chambers — even though the council was meeting virtually because of COVID-19 — to demand the council add an extra $2.5 million for the Office of Accountability and Transparency and cut the proposed funding for the Police Department, which was about $745 million.
Councilman Carlos Garcia, who led the push for the Office of Accountabil
ity and Transparency earlier this year, asked his council colleagues to add the $2.5 million for the new oversight department and take it out of the city’s contingency fund.
Phoenix Deputy City Manager Jeff Barton told the council that they could take money from the contingency fund. But he cautioned that if the council doesn’t replenish the funds by the end of the fiscal year, there could be consequences to the city’s bond rating.
Hundreds protest outside
Hundreds of people circled outside the Phoenix City Council chambers building across the street from Phoenix City Hall, chanting “Black lives matter” so loudly that at one point it could be heard on the City Council’s livestream video of its meeting.
Among the chants were “They killed Dion Johnson while sleeping in a car,” referring to the Arizona Department of Public Safety fatal shooting on Memorial Day.
The protest, organized by Black Lives Matter Phoenix Metro, Mass Liberation Arizona, Fund for Empowerment and Poder in Action, was a demand for structural change after six days of protests.
Lorenza Valdez, whose son, 24-yearold Francisco “Paco” Valdez, was shot and killed by Phoenix police was among the speakers outside. She demanded that officers stop their violence.
Anna Hernandez, whose 26-year-old brother, Alejandro Hernandez, was shot and killed by Phoenix police, said some officers abuse their power and are not held accountable.
Katie Baeza, whose brother, 40-yearold Ryan Whitaker, was killed by Phoenix police in May, asked for transparency. She says she hasn’t received answers about why her brother was killed.
What the office will do
Currently, when claims of wrongdoing are made, the Police Department’s Professional Standards Bureau investigates.
If the bureau finds there was employee misconduct, investigators can refer the case to the Disciplinary Review Board, which is chaired by one of the department’s assistant police chiefs and has six additional members, including two officers, two civilians and two police commanders.
After reviewing the case, the board makes a disciplinary recommendation to the police chief, who ultimately decides any punishment.
The employee has the right to appeal to the city’s five-member Civil Service Board, which will sustain the punishment or reduce the punishment. In the case of the employee being fired, the board can give him or her their job back.
Under the new system, a civilian office will investigate after a resident makes a complaint against a police officer.
A resident will have three options for where to file a complaint: the Police Department, the Office of Accountability and Transparency, or during a public Civilian Review Board monthly meeting.
Wherever a resident files a complaint, it would trigger the Police Department’s Professional Standards Bureau to investigate the claim. If there is an investigation, someone from the Office of Accountability and Transparency would be part of that investigation.
There would be two investigations in tandem, and the Police Department’s Professional Standards Bureau and the Office of Accountability and Transparency would write separate reports for the police chief.
Ultimately, the police chief would weigh both and decide on any disciplinary action.
History of police issues
The oversight proposals came in response to public outcry following a high number of police shootings over the past nine years, a number of use-offorce cases that resulted in legal settlements and a May 2019 viral cellphone video showing a white police officer pointing a gun at a black man and his family during a shoplifting investigation.
The city spent $26 million in taxpayer funds on legal settlements between fiscal years 2008 and 2018 because of police actions, according to city documents provided to the council.