Department of Justice Investigation into Phoenix Police: The Role of a Settlement

The Justice Department is requiring Phoenix city officials to sign a settlement agreement following a federal investigation into the city’s police department. This means:

PHOENIX – For more than two years, Justice Department investigators have been looking into Phoenix police officers’ use of force, alleged retaliation against protesters, the handling of the homeless population and other performance issues.

A proposed settlement by the Justice Department came as a surprise to those responsible in Phoenix: They were not allowed to see it in advance.

Under Justice Department guidelines, the council could only get an advance view of the results if it agreed in principle to sign a settlement, with an outside observer ensuring the agreement was enforced.

What is a settlement decision?

A settlement is an agreement between two parties that is considered a legally binding plan to improve performance.

“If the government sues a person or corporation and the defendant agrees to stop its illegal conduct, the government may agree not to prosecute the case and the court may approve and issue a settlement,” says Cornell University law school.

The federal government has frequently entered into settlement agreements over the past three decades to reform police departments across the country. The agreements specify certain actions that agencies must take to avoid lawsuits from the federal government.

RELATED: 5 Things the Government Is Investigating the Phoenix Police Department For

In 1997, under the Clinton administration, Pittsburgh became the first city in the United States to sign a settlement agreement that lasted until 2002 and required Pittsburgh police to make changes to traffic stops, searches, and training practices.

The results of a comparison can vary greatly.

The reforms Cincinnati implemented in the early 2000s were successful and are often seen as a model for the settlement agreement process. Other cities have either failed with settlement agreements or made much slower progress. The Oakland Police Department, for example, has been under federal oversight since 2003. New Orleans has been under a settlement agreement with the Department of Justice since 2013.

In Phoenix’s case, the settlement would require the city to make concrete changes to the way the police operate.

RELATED TOPICS: Justice Department rejects Phoenix leadership’s request to release results of police investigation in advance

What is the role of a monitor?

An observer serves as an independent reviewer of the jurisdiction’s readiness to resolve issues identified after an investigation. Observers are selected through intensive negotiations between the parties entering into a settlement and with the approval of the federal court overseeing the agreement.

The independent observer will provide status reports on the agreed changes.

Oversight of the process is structured to bring jurisdictions into compliance within the first five years. Overseers will be reviewed every two to three years, and all reports will be made publicly available, according to the DOJ.