PHOENIX — After an hour of comments from the public, the Phoenix City Council voted Wednesday to establish the Office of Accountability and Transparency.
The office is designed to take a deeper look into police shootings and claims of excessive force in the Valley.
BREAKING: @CityofPhoenixAZ passes Office of Accountability and Transparency in a 5-4 vote. @MayorGallego says "Phoenix was the largest city without civilian [police] oversight. Today, that has changed."#ABC15
— Nicole Valdes (@NicoleValdesTV) May 19, 2021
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Money has been set aside for the office, but Wednesday's 5-4 vote puts it into action.
Before this vote, Phoenix was the only one of the top five largest cities in the country without some kind of public oversight board.
An attempt to create a civilian board to review potential police misconduct failed by a 5-4 vote last November but was revived this year.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego weighed in saying, "We are making a powerful commitment to improve the relationship between law enforcement and the people of Phoenix. Today’s creation of the Office of Accountability and Transparency is an enormous positive step – alongside many others – that we have recently taken to improve accountability.”
