The department’s report comes after a three-year investigation into complaints of discrimination and use of force by law enforcement that the city says has been burdensome.
Listen to this article · 8:57 min Learn more
- Share full article
The Phoenix Police headquarters in 2018, the year the department had the highest number of fatal police shootings in the United States.
The Justice Department issued a sweeping rebuke of policing in Phoenix on Thursday, finding severe discrimination against Black, Hispanic and Native American people, routine violations of the rights of homeless people and excessive use of force.
The review is one of the harshest to come out of the Biden administration in its efforts to investigate police departments for systemic problems. It is also the first time a civil rights investigation into police practices found that the rights of homeless people were violated.
“Ultimately, our findings reveal evidence showing longstanding dysfunction,,” Kristen Clarke, the assistant attorney general who leads the department’s civil rights division, told reporters on Thursday. She added, “The problems at their core reflect the lack of effective supervision, training and accountability.”
City officials said in statements Thursday that they would take the findings seriously. But they have told the Justice Department that the city already enacted police reforms since the investigation began in 2021, and the Phoenix police of today “are materially different than the department that you investigated.”
Phoenix has bristled at the prospect of federal involvement in its policing. But the department’s findings were so severe, Ms. Clarke said, that “this is one instance where we can’t count on the police to police themselves.”
She said the agency had no immediate plans to sue Phoenix and its police force to mandate changes. She indicated that a first step would be arriving at an agreement with Phoenix officials to enter into a consent decree — a legally binding improvement plan — or placing the department under an independent monitor, as it has in similar situations.
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
Source: nytimes.com
