By Jonmaesha Beltran and Rosali Robles
Phoenix City Council heard a vigorous debate on Wednesday from supporters and opponents of a citizen oversight board for the Phoenix Police Department due to a spike in officer-involved shootings in 2018.
The item was information only, so the Council took no action implementing or rejecting the implementation of a review board.
In 2018, the Phoenix Police Department was involved in 44 shootings, nearly double the number in 2017 and higher than more populous cities like Los Angeles or New York. Phoenix police officers have been involved in two shootings thus far in 2019, according to the city
Ramon Aquino and Veronica Monge, members in a coalition fighting injustice against lower-income residents called the Arizona Poor People’s Campaign, said lack of oversight led to the increase in officer-involved shootings in Phoenix. The two say SB 1070, a law enacted in 2010 that created a new misdemeanor offense for a non-citizen to fail to carry immigrant registration documents and allowed law enforcement to arrest individuals without a warrant based on probable cause of unlawful presence, led to an increase in racial profiling and police abuse. The term “probable cause” stirred controversy as some argued that the vague idea allowed officers to target people of color.
The Arizona Poor People’s Campaign outlined a few of their desired features of such a board: it would be civilian-led and run, have the power to subpoena officers, and make recommendations on termination and discipline measures. They are also asking that investigations be fast-moving with access to body-cam footage within 48 hours and documentation within three business days, according to an Arizona Poor People’s Campaign press release.
“The notion of civilian review or oversight in whatever form it takes, I think is misconstrued often as being designed to restrict the officers in our police department, when it is absolutely the opposite,” Jeremy M. Helfgot, founder and principal of J.M. Helfgot Communications, told the Council. “This is about building trust and accountability which ultimately at the end of the day are designed to empower our officers. Our officers are at their best when they have the trust of the community.”
According to Monge, the City of Phoenix has analyzed other civilian review board models suggested by the City Manager’s Community and Police Trust Initiative since 2015.
Opponents of the Arizona Poor People’s Campaign type of board said there were already review boards that have civilian members.
“We already have the public safety committee. You really don’t need oversight because you already got it,” said Nohl Rosen, founder of Rally for Law Enforcement, an organization in support of the Police Department . “The reason they want citizen oversight is to tie the hands of our police officers.”
Mike “Britt” London, president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, the Police Department’s Union, said he’s wondering where the money to fund the civilian review board will come from and whether it would affect taxpayers. He also said he’s concerned about the release of private information and the possibility of board members pushing personal agendas that “may become divisive in our community” during the council meeting.
Some residents mentioned the concern of people of color being targeted by Phoenix Police, while others said it’s not a race issue.
According to the United States Census Bureau, people of color make up approximately 58.9 percent of the Phoenix population. Police Department data shows that for 2018, people of color were involved in 56 percent of officer-involved shootings and in 2017 they were involved in 57 percent
“There needs to be some type of changes that need to be instilled because I thought that I was going to die,” said Ydrate Nelson, a high school science teacher for Tolleson Union High School District. Nelson testified before the council, recounting how he, his wife and their two children, ages 3 and 6, were involved in an incident with Phoenix police officers last Friday. Nelson said his car’s license plate had been switched with that of a stolen car’s and was ambushed by the police.
“I had guns pointed at me, a science teacher. I teach high school kids to do the right thing. There is no way that we can continue to allow this type of activity to happen to innocent people, because we the people of Phoenix, Maricopa County deserve better.”
After the meeting Police Department officials approached Nelson to discuss the incident.
As stated in the meeting agenda, the city of Phoenix shows the Civilian Review Board can be modeled after three practices: review-focused, auditor/monitor and investigations.
Investigations will conduct separate examinations from the Police Department. Trends in crimes will be informed to police, council member and review boards in the ensuing auditor/monitor focus. An independent body will conduct and conclude their own findings based on previous police reviews.
“We cannot ignore police culture that is associated with demographics, push not only for oversight, but proper training of officers, ethics, morality, and awareness all can be brought with a review board,” said Monge.
Contact the reporters at jpbeltra@asu.edu and rroble11@asu.edu.
