Phoenix's goal in the US police investigation is still: "Let's make a deal"

While Phoenix officials are largely silent on the Justice Department’s damning report, their actions so far suggest that the city is focusing its fight on two fronts:

To win the PR campaign that a settlement decision is a bad deal for the public and the police; and
Questioning the validity of a number of Justice Department findings regarding systemic discrimination and unlawful policing.

The ultimate goal is to reach an agreement that is not a conciliation decree.

Or at least a less stressful one.

However, to achieve such a negotiated peace, Phoenix officials may first have to force the Justice Department to sue and explain its position.

One can assume that Phoenix will argue that it has changed

For months before the report was released on June 13, city leaders and law enforcement officials went on the offensive against the Justice Department’s investigation.

They denounced the settlement-based, rigorous mandates that tie the hands of local police for years, cost tens of millions of dollars and have worse consequences, such as higher violent crime rates and demoralized officers.

They criticized the Justice Department for its secrecy and its refusal to give Phoenix an early look at the results before they were made public. And they said they would not immediately sign an agreement in principle that would bind the city to a settlement — that is, to judicial oversight and a supervisor with the power to influence the police department’s every move.

It is difficult to imagine that the city’s officials – no matter how open-minded some of them may be to reform – would unreservedly accept the findings and solutions proposed by the Ministry of Justice.

Phoenix’s future response will no doubt include the argument that the police department that came under the scrutiny of the Justice Department three years ago is a very different one today.

The ministry has launched a number of reforms outlined by the government, particularly since the appointment of interim chief Michael Sullivan. These include:

Revise policies and training on the use of force;
Reducing the mistreatment of homeless people, including the confiscation and destruction of their property; and
Adapting the handling of calls involving people with mental health problems.

It could also challenge the report’s anecdotal claims

The response could also include resistance to some of the Justice Department’s sweeping conclusions, which rely on isolated cases and outright allegations rather than measurable data or a sufficient basis.

For example, that police officers regularly use force, including lethal force, when there is little or no justification for doing so. Or that the police indoctrinate officers into a “force first” approach that not only allows but even encourages excessive force.

Or that the Phoenix police generally delay or deny medical care.

Or that officials systematically treat children unlawfully by applying the same standards to them that apply to adults.

Phoenix has not done enough:In response to the Ministry of Justice

The goal would be to narrow the number of remedies proposed, focusing on demonstrable discriminatory practices and practical, straightforward solutions that both Phoenix and the Department of Justice can live with.

And, more importantly, with realistic and implementable solutions that will enable Phoenix to regain its autonomy in policing as quickly as possible.

Worst Case: Phoenix fights and ends up like MCSO

No one can say how hard and long the fight the city of Phoenix will have to wage will be.

Only six of the dozens of jurisdictions that have challenged the findings since the U.S. Department of Justice began investigating “patterns or practices” in the 1990s have proposed remedies and tried their luck in court.

The majority of them, most recently the Ferguson (Missouri) Police Department in 2016, agreed on reforms with the Justice Department.

One notable exception was the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, which, under Sheriff Joe Arpaio, refused to cooperate and fought the Department of Justice at virtually every turn in its investigation into MCSO’s abusive immigration practices.

The Justice Department responded with a lawsuit and participated in a second case – the landmark Melendres v. Arpaio case, which resulted in a verdict against the sheriff’s office and a settlement.

A settlement that still stands today, twelve years and more than $250 million later.

It’s a fate that everyone in Phoenix, regardless of their opinion on the case, should avoid.

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