Trending Topics

In response to DOJ report, Phoenix PD creates website with incident reports, evidence for public viewing

“These materials are important for our community to see...as we strive to be a self-assessing and self-correcting department,” Interim Chief Michael Sullivan said

Phoenix police detail cases included in DOJ report outlining excessive force, racial discrimination

City Manager Jeff Barton said the website represents a commitment to accountability and transparency and that it provides the public with access to “the facts.”

Phoenix Police Department via Facebook

Associated Press

PHOENIX — The city of Phoenix and its police force have launched a new website in response to a recent scathing U.S. Justice Department report outlining a pattern of excessive force and racial discrimination.

Trending
The affected 365+ grants include those intended to provide programs for gun crime prevention, anti-human trafficking and juvenile justice initiatives
Wellness
The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office’s 4/8/40 schedule pays deputies for working four 10-hour shifts, while they can use 2 hours per shift to work out, go to counseling or do other activities
The film’s release comes after city officials told police and fire unions they would not get raises in their new contracts because of unprecedented financial pressures
Public safety personnel were on duty at Lambeau Field to keep fans safe and secure at the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin

The website includes incident records, body camera footage and evidence in cases mentioned in the report. The city had provided federal investigators with roughly 179,000 documents and 22,000 body camera videos during their investigation.

Interim Police Chief Michael Sullivan said in a statement that such information is crucial for understanding the incidents that were included in the Justice Department report.

“These materials are important for our community to see, and vital for the city to analyze as we strive to be a self-assessing and self-correcting department,” Sullivan said.

City Manager Jeff Barton said the website represents a commitment to accountability and transparency and that it provides the public with access to “the facts.”

The DOJ report did not reference specific information such as incident numbers or dates, but Phoenix officials said city staff were able to identify many of the events and upload associated materials to the site.

The city’s website also includes information on what Phoenix calls its “road to reform” and what the police department is doing to reduce the number of use of force incidents.

Sullivan said the city is analyzing the 37 recommendations outlined by DOJ and comparing them to actions already taken by the police force to enhance policy, training and other systems. Part of the examination is understanding how police systems currently capture performance measures and where the department can improve.

Data will drive decisions on how to advance public safety efforts, city officials said.

Phoenix is the fifth-largest city in the country. Similar DOJ investigations in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Baltimore and elsewhere have found systemic problems related to excessive force and civil rights violations, some resulting in costly consent decrees that have lasted years.

Since April 2021, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division says it has launched 11 pattern-or-practice investigations into law enforcement agencies. That includes the one in Phoenix as well as in Minneapolis and Louisville. It’s currently enforcing consent decrees with 12 law enforcement agencies.