Thousands of documents, 7 visits: After 2 years, DOJ probe of Phoenix police continues

The Phoenix Police Department, marking the two-year anniversary of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into its practices, released a video Thursday updating the status of the civil rights probe.

DOJ investigators have visited seven times, and a dispute over how to provide a voluminous number of videos and documents to the DOJ has been solved.

Phoenix police have turned over tens of thousands of documents and thousands of hours of video.

The video explained that Interim Chief Michael Sullivan started his job during a squabble with the DOJ over how the department would share evidence and documents.

"The DOJ requested a lot of sensitive information," Sullivan said in the video," and we want them to have what they need, but it has to be done in a secure way."

First Minneapolis, then Phoenix?What's next in the ongoing Justice Department probe

Phoenix police follow FBI rules for sharing sensitive material, and Sullivan said that the investigation slowed for "a number of months" because the DOJ rejected some of the department's proposed solutions for sharing information. An agreement was reached in late 2021.

In the style of a TV news segment, the video explained that police had released more than 20,000 body camera videos and shared about 80,000 documents. DOJ investigators had participated in over 200 ride-alongs and interviewed more than 100 city employees.

The city promised continuing collaboration with the DOJ.

The DOJ probe was announced Aug. 5, 2021. Federal investigators are reviewing five key areas:

• All types of force, including deadly force.
• Whether Phoenix police officers engage in retaliatory activity against people for conduct protected by the First Amendment.
• Whether Phoenix police officers engage in discriminatory policing.
• Whether Phoenix police officers unlawfully seize or dispose of the belongings of individuals experiencing homelessness.
• City and Police systems and practices for responding to people with disabilities.

In Ferguson, Missouri, after the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014, DOJ investigators combed through more than 35,000 records and spent 100 days on-site. In Chicago, they spoke to more than 340 police officers and representatives of more than 90 community organizations.

Since the investigation began, Sullivan said the Phoenix department has begun to rewrite its use-of-force policy by letting the public weigh in. The review process allowed community members to submit online feedback for two weeks in January and 10 days in June.

Here's what's new:Phoenix police have made 44 changes to their use of force rules

Sullivan also described new training of Phoenix officers on "new less-lethal tools" and in de-escalation techniques.

As of August, there have been 21 police shootings this year, in which 10 people were killed by an officer. Two others died from self-inflicted wounds, according to police data.

"We need to be a self-assessing, self-correcting agency, and that's not just something that we say," Sullivan said.

"We are, and always will, look for ways to improve."

Reach crime reporter Miguel Torres at miguel.torres@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @TheMiguelTorres.