By Daniel Stefanski |
Maricopa’s Republican County Attorney is joining law enforcement organizations in pushing back against federal monitoring of police departments.
Last week, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell posted her displeasure with the principle of federal monitoring of law enforcement departments, writing, “Look no further than MCSO to see what ‘federal monitoring’ does to agencies. Monitors (people paid to determine whether an agency is in compliance) have ZERO incentive to find compliance. It will cost the taxpayers MILLIONS and crime will increase.”
Mitchell’s forceful comment was in response to a post from the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA), which shared an opinion piece in a local publication, entitled “Phoenix Deserves Better.” The article was written by PLEA’s President, Darrell Kriplean, to counter another piece in support of federal monitoring of the City of Phoenix’s Police Department.
Kriplean called the endorsement of federal monitoring “both dangerous and deceitful,” opining that “while it’s hard to comprehend how someone without any law enforcement experience…could so boldly write a piece designed to inflame the emotions of our citizens through emotionally laden rhetoric, it certainly is not a surprising tactic.”
The association’s president excoriated the motivation and genesis of federal monitoring, saying, “Federal Consent Decrees on police agencies have been a stain on American communities since their inception in 1994 and their continued failure combined with the cottage industry of ‘experts’ making millions from them, have no choice but to inject scare tactics and lies into the communities they prey on in an attempt to justify the continued madness.”
According to the piece, the City of Seattle’s Police Department, among other American cities, have been under federal monitoring, and the price tag and results have been crippling. Kriplean added, “Seattle has been in a consent decree since 2011 and it just crossed over the $120-million-mark for its decree and the only thing that has changed in the Emerald City other than record crime is a police department with the lowest staffing since 1991. The quality of life is gone. Not even their $30,000 hiring bonus can help them, and they currently have more murders than police hires.”
On August 5, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice opened a “pattern or practice investigation into the City of Phoenix and the Phoenix Police Department (PhxPD)” to “assess all types of use of force by PhxPD officers, including deadly force.” The DOJ highlighted that its investigation would “include a comprehensive review of PhxPD’s systems of accountability, including misconduct complaint intake, investigation, review, disposition, and discipline.”
At the time of the announcement, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said, “When we conduct pattern or practice investigations to determine whether the Constitution or federal law has been violated, our aim is to promote transparency and accountability. This increases public trust, which in turn increases public safety. We know that law enforcement shares these goals.”
Earlier this year, the City of Phoenix and Phoenix Police Department updated people on the progress of the investigation, alerting readers that “city and police leaders have provided the DOJ with documents, videos, interviews, ride-a-longs, and access to training sessions with the department.” The City’s bulletin revealed that the DOJ investigation “has come with challenges, as it took several months to negotiate a method for sharing sensitive law enforcement information which complied with FBI standards.”
Per the City of Phoenix’s information, the DOJ’s Civil Pattern or Practice investigation into the Phoenix Police Department “is the 71st investigation of its kind since the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 was signed into law by President Bill Clinton.” If DOJ finds “patterns or practices of misconduct,” then Phoenix will likely find itself with a federal monitor.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
