Title
Consideration of a Citizen Petition by Mr. Roland Harris
Description
This report provides the City Council with information in response to a citizen petition submitted by Mr. Roland Harris at the Feb. 7, 2024, Formal City Council meeting regarding the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation of the Phoenix Police Department (Attachment A).
Report
Summary
On Feb. 7, 2024, Mr. Roland Harris submitted a citizen petition to request the City of Phoenix "[e]nact a resolution calling on the Department of Justice to publicly release its full investigatory report of the City of Phoenix and the City of Phoenix Police Department as soon as such investigation and report are complete and final.” Mr. Harris further requests that “[t]he investigatory report released should include the totality of the Department of Justice’s findings against the City of Phoenix and the City of Phoenix Police Department, as well as the factual bases for the findings, and should not be a mere summary of the Department’s findings.” Upon review by the Law Department, this submittal was determined to qualify as a citizen petition requiring action by the City Council.
Staff Response
On Aug. 5, 2021, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its civil investigation into the Phoenix Police Department. The investigation is an independent review to determine if the Phoenix Police Department has engaged in a pattern or practice of misconduct and whether systemic deficiencies enable misconduct to persist.
The investigation mainly focuses on five areas:
- Excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
- Discriminatory policing that violates the Constitution and Federal law.
- Retaliation against those engaged in First Amendment-protected activities.
- Violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) related to behavioral health disabilities.
- Violations of the rights of individuals experiencing homelessness with regards to the disposal of property.
The DOJ made four formal requests for the production of documents containing 234 specific requests. In response, as of Feb. 1, 2024, the City has provided:
- More than 179,258 documents;
- Approximately 20TB of data from multiple systems
- Approximately 22,458 Body Worn Camera (BWC) videos
- Interviews of over 130 City employees
- 200 hours of ride alongs with PPD
Additionally, since the DOJ opened its investigation in August 2021, the City has spent a little over $7.5 million on costs associated with the investigation as of Dec. 31, 2023.
While staff does not recommend that the Council concede to any of the WHEREAS statements preceding the petition, staff does recommend submitting a formal letter to the US Department of Justice requesting the public release of the investigation report as soon as the investigation and report are complete and final, and that the investigatory report released should include the totality of the Department of Justice’s findings against the City of Phoenix and the City of Phoenix Police Department, as well as the factual bases for the findings, and should not be a mere summary of the Department’s findings.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Lori Bays and the Police Department.