![]() Officers who use unreasonable force can go undetected, putting community members at risk.” Where officers are not held accountable for misconduct, MPD loses the opportunity to correct officers’ problematic tactics. “The lack of proper force review is dangerous. ![]() ![]() “Supervisors miss serious policy violations and do not identify officer misstatements,” according to the DOJ investigation into Minneapolis. In the DOJ findings in Louisville and Minneapolis, federal investigators focused on how the departments had inadequate systems for reviewing uses of force. Phoenix police policy states that “physical force will not be used to obtain fingerprints.”īut in an internal review of the incident, supervisors found that the use of force was justified. When McDonald declined to give his fingerprints, Turiano and three other officers forced him to the ground in the prone position, where they kneeled on his back and pushed his face into the pavement in order to pry his fingers open. One of them was Christopher Turiano, who brought a digital fingerprint scanner. The screenshot below is from the DOJ’s report on Minneapolis:Īfter McDonald was initially handcuffed and placed into the police SUV, several more officers arrive. Nevertheless, MPD officers routinely respond to protected speech with arrests and with force.” RELATED: Body camera footage shows Phoenix Police Department officers disparaging protestersįor the Louisville Metro Police Department, the DOJ concluded, “LMPD violates the rights of people engaged in protected speech critical of policing.” And in Minneapolis: “Criticism of officers, even with profanity, is protected speech. ![]() While the DOJ launched investigations into those cities because of the deaths of Breanna Taylor and George Floyd, their final reports highlighted multiple lesser-known cases similar to McDonald’s as problematic examples of excessive, aggressive, and retaliatory policing. The federal probe has been open for 22 months.Īnd during that time, the DOJ has finalized similar investigations into two other police departments: Louisville (March 8, 2023) and Minneapolis (June 16, 2023). POLITICALLY CHARGED: ABC15 investigates Phoenix protest cases Phoenix police are under a sweeping Department of Justice pattern or practice investigation that’s focused on five areas, including excessive force and retaliation against protesters. “When you look at it, and you look at the (number of officers), what are the chances that I could have a situation with police on the street and two of them are on the misconduct list, the ‘Brady’ list?” McDonald told ABC15 in an interview. So while an arrest like McDondald’s can fly under the radar, it’s also the kind of case that has grabbed the attention of federal investigators. There wasn’t a press release or news coverage. The internal probe is still ongoing and officials said they do not have an estimated date of completion.No one was killed or severely injured. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is also still conducting an internal investigation into the main prosecutor, April Sponsel, who brought the initial cases against protesters. James Groat, Officer Jeffrey Raymond, Officer Alexander Volk, and Officer Joseph Crowley. The firm’s final report confirmed ABC15’s reporting and recommended that the city have an outside police agency conduct a criminal probe of five officers' involvement in the cases. ![]() Phoenix ordered an outside investigation to be conducted by the Ballard Spahr law firm. In the most egregious case, police and prosecutors colluded to create a fictional gang and then charge protesters as members. Given the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office’s role in bringing false charges against protesters, any prosecutorial decisions in the case will be handled by the Pinal County Attorney’s Office, officials said.ĪBC15 launched its “Politically Charged” investigation in February.Īs a result, nearly 40 felony protest cases were dismissed. The Arizona Attorney General’s Office and the Tucson Police Department both turned down the city’s request to look at the matter, citing either a lack of jurisdiction or resources. Phoenix struggled to find an outside agency to investigate its officers for testimony and written reports that were flagged by prosecutors following an ABC15 series of reports that exposed widespread exaggerations and lies in protest cases. The case, which is ongoing, was assigned to MCSO detectives in November, according to a City of Phoenix spokesperson. PHOENIX - The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has agreed to handle an outside criminal investigation into a handful of Phoenix police officers tied to corrupted protest arrests and prosecutions. ![]()
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