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Aug 12, 2023

Two years into DOJ probe, Phoenix police chief is making reforms while he waits

PHOENIX — Phoenix interim police chief is explaining reforms he's spearheading as a federal civil rights investigation moves into a third year. The Department of Justice pattern or practice probe was

PHOENIX — Phoenix interim police chief is explaining reforms he's spearheading as a federal civil rights investigation moves into a third year.

The Department of Justice pattern or practice probe was announced on August 5, 2021. According to the city of Phoenix, federal investigators have already collected 20,000 police body-camera videos and more than 80,000 documents.

DOJ officials have made seven site visits and done 200 hours of ride-alongs.

Federal investigators are looking at use-of-force incidents and allegations of racial discrimination. They are looking at whether police retaliated against police protestors exercising their First Amendment rights. They are also looking at how people experiencing homelessness and people with disabilities, including mental illnesses, are being treated.

Interim Police Chief Michael Sullivan started in Phoenix in September 2022, a year after the DOJ probe began. Friday, he sat down with ABC15 Investigator Melissa Blasius to answer questions.

Blasius: You spent some time in Baltimore, dealing with civil rights issues there. What did you learn in Baltimore that you've carried through to Phoenix?

Chief Sullivan: Right after I got here, as I assessed what I thought we needed to do to be able to prepare ourselves - regardless what happens with this investigation - one of the things was updating our use-of-force policy. We started that back in December... We get input from the public. We get input from our members, and I also... sat down and met with the Department of Justice and got their input... We also have put more-or-less lethal tools in the hands of our officers. I know that that saves lives here on the streets of Phoenix, and it's made officers safer. I've also brought a national best practice training around de-escalation where our folks are going through that right now and will continue to go through that over the next year.

Blasius: Let me ask you about officers' use of force. We crunched some numbers, and we found actually a 30% increase in Phoenix police use-of-force incidents since 2020.

Chief Sullivan: There's a lot of reasons that you've seen this. And I think that that's not just here in Phoenix, but it's something that, talking to my colleagues around the country, they've seen as well. It's been a challenge in law enforcement, really since 2020, that I think most of us have never experienced before.

Blasius: Two years since the DOJ investigation certainly is a long slog, and a lot of people in the community felt like there would be the feeling of change and that they might feel safer in the city as this continues. But they say they don't. How do you want to respond to those concerns?

Chief Sullivan: We're focused every single day on preventing, controlling crime, providing justice to victims and public safety to the citizens here. [We] look forward to engaging with folks that feel unsafe, and I invite them to be able to engage with us. That's the only way that we're going to change and make people feel safe is if we can develop relationships.

Blasius: How many more months [do you think] this investigation might go on before you see some results or conclusions on their part?

Chief Sullivan: I always point people back to the Department of Justice when they asked me that question. However, I get the sense that the wrapping up... We could be into the fall or early next year?

Blasius: What do you want people to think of when they think of policing and public safety in Phoenix, 3, 5,10 years from now?

Chief Sullivan: We're going to focus on making sure that we make this a safe city. Public safety - making sure victims are heard - is critical. That's what we exist for.

Got a news tip? Email ABC15 Investigator Melissa Blasius at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

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