PHOENIX — After ABC15 exposed top city leaders using encrypted phone apps to hide and delete messages, Phoenix changed its public record policy and required every employee to undergo new training.
The updated policy went into effect in late November, records show.
RELATED: Letter claims Phoenix police, Chief Williams lied about secret messaging app
It now explicitly states that messages sent and received on apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal are subject to state public record law and must be retained.
All 14,000 city workers were mandated to complete training on the new policy by December 31, according to an internal memo.
The changes were made in direct response to a series of ABC15 reports.
In August, multiple sources said outgoing Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams and her top staff used Signal to discuss sensitive city matters.
The department confirmed Williams had used the app, but officials claimed she stopped in 2020.
That wasn’t true.
Days later, ABC15 obtained screenshots showing Williams and multiple assistant chiefs using Signal to discuss the city’s ongoing protest scandal in 2021. The screenshots also show the auto-delete feature was enabled.
The deletion of public records is illegal.
Phoenix police are also under a sweeping Department of Justice pattern or practice investigation, which has a key focus on the protest cases.
RELATED: Phoenix leaders tight-lipped about secret messages
In wake of those reports, other top Phoenix leaders remained silent on the issue and did not respond to emailed questions asking if they or their staff members used similar encrypted messaging apps to conduct city business.
Mayor Kate Gallego and her communication director also tried to mislead ABC15 about their office’s past use of Signal and then got upset when reporters learned they had.
In August, ABC15 also filed a detailed public records request for any messages sent and received on encrypted apps by top city leaders.
Some city council members’ offices retained and produced messages, but Gallego’s office produced no documents, and the City Manager’s Office and police department released only a few messages.
Contact ABC15 Investigator Dave Biscobing at Dave@ABC15.com.
