PHOENIX — The Phoenix Police Department had more than a dozen officers receive special training from a former prosecutor, who was fired and placed under State Bar investigation after colluding with city detectives to falsely charge protesters as gang members.
The “courtroom testimony training” class was led by April Sponsel on Tuesday and hosted at the Surprise Police Department.
Phoenix issued a basic statement when asked for comment on why the department would allow officers to attend.
“The Phoenix Police Department had 14 employees registered for the AZ POST approved training,” a spokesperson wrote.
With seats costing $200, officers from multiple departments attended the class. But sources told ABC15 that Phoenix appeared to have the most in attendance.
“If I would say that I’m surprised that would be a lie,” said Katie Gipson-Mclean, a defense attorney who represented an innocent man falsely charged by Sponsel and Phoenix in 2020. “At this point, nothing really surprises me from Phoenix PD anymore.”
Sponsel was fired from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and placed under State Bar investigation after ABC15’s Politically Charged investigation.
POLITICALLY CHARGED: ABC15 investigates Phoenix protest cases
The former prosecutor colluded with Phoenix officers to invent a fictional gang and then charge anti-police demonstrators as members.
After ABC15’s reports, the court, MCAO, and multiple outside investigations concluded that Sponsel presented clearly false information to grand jurors to obtain charges in multiple cases.
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego released a statement.
"Mayor Gallego was not aware of Phoenix detectives attending a training led by the former prosecutor. She has spoken with city leadership about further vetting such programs before engaging city employees. Gallego remains committed to ensuring that Phoenix police is held to the highest standard,” said spokesperson Arielle Devorah.
Surprise city leaders faced sharp criticism at a recent council meeting for agreeing to host Sponsel’s training.
Like Phoenix, the Surprise Police Department also deflected criticism for the class by saying it was approved by AZPOST, the Arizona Peace Officers Standards, and Training Board.
AZPOST officials confirmed they approved the “content of the class” in October last year, which is after she had been fired.
Contact ABC15 Chief Investigator Dave Biscobing at Dave@ABC15.com.
