PHOENIX – The Phoenix Police Department and Phoenix City Council continue to face ongoing criticism from citizens regarding the police department’s use of excessive force and allegations of discrimination.
The Department of Justice announced its investigation into the Phoenix Police Department on Aug. 5, 2021, and completed a report in 34 months regarding the allegations of civil rights violations such as racial discrimination and violation of First Amendment rights. The DOJ found that the allegations were true and the Phoenix Police Department had engaged in behavior that violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law, according to the DOJ website
The Phoenix City Council met on Sept. 24 to discuss the implementation of policies regarding public safety concerns. These policies were set to give the police increased funding for reformation. Speakers such as Mardi Winkler and Shawanna Chambers El shared their personal experiences with the Phoenix Police Department and the justice system, calling for defunding. Other speakers, such as Anna Hernandez, criticized how long it has taken for Phoenix’s City Council to address the police department’s threat to public safety.
Interim Police Chief of Phoenix Micheal Sullivan, and Assistant Chief of Phoenix Police Dennis Orender presented a step-by-step plan on how the police department is planning to reform the tactics used in its department.
This plan includes the implementation of more scenario-based training exercises, lectures and case studies, according to Chief Sullivan. It has also banned officers from shooting from and at moving vehicles, according to Assistant Chief Orender.
“We are currently evaluating this training again to make sure our officers are receiving the most up to date lesson plan and all of this is tracked and implemented by the Organizational Integrity Bureau and the Continuous Improvement Unit,” Assistant Chief Orender said.
Mardi Winkler, a victim to alleged police brutality, shared her story during the public comment section of the event.
“I have been living a nightmare for 10 years after Officer Jason Gillespie almost killed me with his bare hands in a fit of rage because he thought I called the police too many times,” Winkler said.
Through tears and holding a picture of her injuries, Winkler said she was left with four fractures to her skull, bleeding from the brain and bruises to her face following the altercation. She said Officer Gillespie is now training recruits in the academy and everything he did to her was covered up by the Phoenix Police Department.
Shawanna Chambers El is the mother of Johnny Reed, 14, who was charged with murder in connection to Jacob Harris’s death. Harris was shot and killed by a police officer. She said her son was completely innocent in the incident.
“I would like to say that within these years that I've experienced this tragedy, me and my family and so many others that stand behind me, there has been nothing done,” Chambers El said. “There are still police officers that are murdering people in our communities.”
Senate Member Anna Hernandez was the first to mention accountability within the police force during public comments. Hernandez said the discussion regarding policy should have happened prior to the release of the DOJ’s report. She criticized how officers are reprimanded following failure to follow policy.
“We can talk about all the reforms we want, but until there is a solid piece in place to make sure that accountability happens when these policy failures happen, we're not going to get out of this perpetual cycle that we are seeing,” Hernandez said.
Despite the majority of public comments being against the implementation of additional funding for the police department, the City Council unanimously voted in favor of implementing these new policies.