Title
Protest Planning and Response
Description
This report provides an update to the Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee on the Police Department's protest planning and response.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.
Report
Summary
The City of Phoenix and Phoenix Police Department are committed to protecting the first amendment rights of the community. Based on research of best practices to ensure public safety during demonstrations, protests and large public gatherings, Police staff have worked to develop a new public-facing policy. This policy has been has been drafted and was released for a public comment period from September 27 to October 27, 2024. The Department received 69 comments from the public and staff incorporated changes to the policy where appropriate. In addition to public comment, the Police staff also incorporated feedback from the Department of Justice report, to include:
- Emphasizing constitutional rights.
- Threshold for force used against crowds.
- Executive level review of after-action reports when force is used.
The anticipated release date of the new policy is April 2025.
Public Safety Response Team
The Phoenix Police Department's Downtown Operations Unit (DOU) is responsible for maintaining a Mobile Field Force known as the Public Safety Response Team (PSRT.) The Public Safety Response Team is comprised of full time members assigned to DOU, as well as collateral duty members who are assigned to various precincts and bureaus throughout the Department.
PSRT members assigned to DOU are responsible for the maintenance and inventory of all PSRT specialty equipment. They are also responsible for training collateral duty PSRT members. During PSRT deployments, members of DOU are assigned to critical roles within the operation, while collateral duty PSRT members are assigned to auxiliary positions such as line officers and traffic control. Currently, the Phoenix Police Department has 591 certified PSRT officers, 61 of them are assigned to DOU.
Every member of PSRT is required to attend the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s 24-hour Mobile Field Force course. Upon successful completion, they are required to attend the Downtown Operations Unit 10-hour class. At the conclusion of both trainings, officers will have a working knowledge of Mobile Field Force operations to include:
- Formations
- Specialized Equipment (shields, munitions, helmets, helmet camera, less lethal systems, audio devices, and gas masks)
- Less Lethal Use of Force tools (direct impact from pepperball or 40mm less lethal munitions)
- Job specific verbiage
- Rescues
- Vehicle Rescues
- Legal considerations
- Arrest procedures
PSRT officers assigned to DOU attend additional specialized training such as Grenadier school and Extrication school, and the Unit also maintains certified instructors for each specialty.
Police and Fire Collaboration
The Phoenix Police Department and Phoenix Fire Department work collaboratively to ensure the life safety of all residents and public safety members during demonstrations, protests and civil unrest. Joint police and fire partnerships are maintained through the City of Phoenix Homeland Defense Bureau and the City of Phoenix All-Hazards Incident Management Team provide coordination through unified command. Interoperability of communications delivers real-time ability for all public safety partners to preplan actions and respond safely, efficiently, and effectively. During these events, the Phoenix Fire Department Regional Dispatch Center assigns tactical radio operators to staff terminals in the Tactical Operations Centers to establish perimeters and coordinate responses to any 911 calls within the defined areas. This close proximity availability increases safety for residents and public safety members while maintaining the highest level of service to residents and businesses around the defined perimeters.
Tools
During an civil disturbance or unlawful assembly, officers have three primary tools that may be used to disperse the crowd and regain order:
- Communication and verbal commands: Verbal commands can be given in person, or by an amplified device or loudspeaker.
- Distraction devices: Distraction devices are deployed from various platforms, each has the same intent, to create a loud noise that may cause confusion and distract the individuals committing crimes.
- Less lethal munitions: Less lethal munitions are used for area denial, dispersal and direct impact. These munitions are not likely, or intended, to cause death or serious injury and can be deployed by hand or by a less lethal launcher, such as pepper ball or 40mm. The use of gas requires approval from the Police Chief, or delegate, absent exigent circumstances.
After any deployment of less lethal munitions, PSRT members continue to evaluate the attendees and any community members who may have been in the area for signs of medical duress or need. If anyone is found to need medical attention, or requests medical attention, they are treated by the Phoenix Fire Department, who stages nearby during all PSRT deployments.
Planned and Unplanned Event Response
The Public Safety Response Team is trained and prepared to respond to two types of events, planned and unplanned.
Planned events are those events known about roughly 24-48 hours in advance. For these types of events, there is ample time to plan and prepare. Planning for these types of events requires the Community Response Squad (CRS) to attempt to contact the event organizer to generate rapport and learn about the groups plan and attendance. CRS then works closely with the Homeland Defense Bureau (HDB) and the DOU to determine if a PSRT response is warranted and what other resources may be required, such as motor officers. Normally, planned events only require a Tier 1 response where PSRT is notified and maintains normal duties and work hours. CRS provides PSRT with regular updates as the event is happening.
Unplanned events are those events that do not provide 24-48-hour advance notice. Because of the shorter time frame, intelligence and planning is occurring simultaneously. Unplanned events force supervisors to make response option decisions with limited information. These events most often require a Tier 1 response.
Our responses our broken down into three tiers:
- Tier 1 - Community Response Squad responds; Homeland Defense Bureau and DOU are notified.
- Tier 2 - Unformed officers (patrol, motors, bicycle) support CRS. PSRT may be placed on standby.
- Tier 3 - PSRT stages nearby. HDB initiates Tactical Operations Center.
Response is based on the anticipated or known size of the crowd, intelligence gathered reference the possibility of civil unrest, and any potential threat to critical infrastructure. PSRT is utilized when there is a high potential for civil unrest or the size of the crowd is too large for CRS and the corresponding precinct to manage.
Historical data shows that PSRT rarely deploys for planned or unplanned events. We define a deployment as an incident where PSRT leaves staging and has direct interaction with demonstrators due to unlawful actions. Recently, we identified a shortfall in our reporting. Several work units were capturing different categories of information and documenting them using various methods. This has been corrected by creating one reporting template to be used by DOU and HDB. This template was used for the recent demonstrations January 30, 2025, thru February 8, 2025. During this time frame we had 19 demonstrations that required a Tier 3 response.
- Demonstrations: 19
- PSRT deployed: 7
- Gas deployment: 1
- Shows of force: 7
- Uses of force: 0
- Arrest: 1
This detailed and consistent record keeping will be utilized moving forward for all Tier 2 and Tier 3 responses. Tier 1 responses are documented by CRS. During the calendar year of 2024 the Phoenix Police Department documented 313 monitored events:
- 218 demonstrations
- 55 labor action events
- 40 election related events
A Tier 3 response was initiated for 10 of these events, approximately 3.2 percent. These events resulted in 28 arrests by PSRT. All 28 arrests were planned by the demonstrators and coordinated through CRS. PSRT did not deploy on any of these events, they did assist with arrest, traffic control, and temporary site security.
Tactical Operations Center
When a Tier 3 response is requested by CRS, DOU or HDB, a tactical operation center (TOC) is implemented. Managing a TOC is staffing intensive for the police department and fire department. All tactical operation centers are implemented in partnership with Phoenix Fire Department and managed by the Homeland Defense Bureau. The following is summary of the average police staffing required to adequately manage a Tier 3 response with a tactical operation center:
- Commanders: 2
- Lieutenants: 14
- Sergeants: 36
- Officers: 169
- Detectives: 33
- Civilians: 32
- Total: 286
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Assistant City Manager Lori Bays and the Police Department.