PHOENIX — The City of Phoenix has sent its official response to the Department of Justice regarding its review of the city's police department.
The DOJ's review of the Phoenix Police Department shows a pattern of conduct that violates several constitutional amendments and civil rights.
DOJ officials say their investigation found the department discriminated against communities of color and the homeless population.
In 2021, the city and its police department went under a sweeping federal probe that was focused on the use of force, discriminatory policing, the treatment of people experiencing homelessness, response to people in crisis, and retaliation against protesters.
The letter states that the department has had “meaningful dialogue” with the community and has approved funding for full implementation of body-worn cameras, funding to help the homeless, and assistance for those who are in mental crisis, among other things.
Read the full response from the City of Phoenix below:
On Thursday, a DOJ leader said the department ignored warning signs of the civil rights violations and discriminatory patterns.
The report also states the department would often retaliate against those who spoke up about the violations.
Federal lawyers and investigators received more than 147,000 documents and 22,000 body-worn camera videos. They interviewed 130 police and city employees and rode along for 200 hours with Phoenix officers.
Read the full report from the DOJ below:
Following the release of the findings of the investigation, ABC15 Investigator Melissa Blasius spoke with Phoenix PD Chief Sullivan, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clark, and Phoenix City Manager Jeff Barton.
"Ultimately, our findings reveal evidence showing long-standing dysfunction at the Phoenix Police Department," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clark.
"The police department turned a blind eye to the data, ignored these unmistakable warnings, and failed to uncover its own discriminatory policing patterns," Clark said.
On Friday, famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump said the DOJ findings in Phoenix were "shocking." Crump spoke to ABC15 Senior Investigator Melissa Blasius while in town for a State Bar of Arizona event.
Crump pointed out the racial disparities in Phoenix police traffic stops, identified by the DOJ.
"When you think about '150 times more likely' if you pull me over, I'm either going to get a ticket or go to jail than my white brother or sister," Crump said. "That's alarming."
Crump represented the family of George Floyd in Minneapolis and other families in high-profile police brutality cases across the country. He also represents the family of Akeem Terrell in an excessive force lawsuit against the Phoenix Police Department and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. According to the lawsuit, officers assaulted, suffocated, and left Terrell, who was in a mental health crisis, to die in a jail cell in 2021.
"For that finding, from the Department of Justice, to say that Phoenix Police Department had a propensity to engage in excessive force against people who were dealing with mental illnesses is troubling, and we should hopefully use this as an opportunity to do better," Crump said.
Watch ABC15 Investigators Dave Biscobing and Melissa Blasius discuss the report:
TIMELINE: DOJ's investigation into Phoenix police over use of force during protest arrests