DOJ releases report on Phoenix PD: What's next?

Today, following years of reporting by our ABC15 Investigators, the Department of Justice has released its report saying Phoenix police violated civil rights and had patterns of discrimination. Dave Biscobing and Melissa Blasisus sit down to discuss what led up to this report and what we should expect next. FULL COVERAGE:
abc15.com/poli...

[@andrewkillick4906]

DOJ took three years, Cop watchers took three nights. Interview some of those guys!

[@jbell9159]

We need people like you folks who won't shut up!!! Thank you, great citizens in action!

[@jamesfarrell7465]

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive....those who torment us for OUR OWN GOOD will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience" - C.S. Lewis

[@HeartLifePhoenix]

We just want a healthier police department

[@frankietyree1953]

Thank you Dave! For honest reporting! Melissa! Learn from Dave!

[@aerithajames9608]

We are dealing with a department that is rotten beyond repair. The first step to fixing a problem is to admit that there is one. Despite the multitude of evidence, they are unable to accept that their department is in need of intervention. Sad.

[@jamesfarrell7465]

During the last decade a LOT of large American cities (Seattle, Chicago, New Orleans, Nashville, to name a few) have been working under the very same Department of Justice "consent decrees" that DOJ seeks for Phoenix, and guess what? every one of them has experienced higher rates of crime, the flight of experienced officers to other cities, and increased difficulty hiring new officers. If that's the kind of city you want to live in, you should move there and see how "wonderful" it is.

[@TroyJScott]

Well said!

[@EugeneGallegos-ot6ur]

DOJ needs to monitor Mesa and Tucson department's

[@YouilAushana]

I'm also Hispanic in mesa. No problems here. Just follow appropriate laws

[@libertylovebryant7026]

IM GOING WITH EVERY STATE, THIS IS A NATIONAL ISSUE

[@ultrasuperbro]

End qualified immunity, end civil asset forfeiture! Departments and individuals should be liable, and it should come from the pension funds!

[@oreillysc1]

So you’re telling me the federal government is concerned with Phoenix targeting protestors. The FBi is concerned with police targeting protestors. For real 😂

[@Tracy-m3n]

Ive always hated that bs saying cops love to say there like there's only a few bad cops and no cop wants a bad cop on the force if that was true they wouldn't mind stricter regulations to hold cops accountable but any reasonable person knows that it isn't only a few bad cops

[@tomcavness]

That USED to be true. It was becoming less true, but they really drove the nail in the coffin during COVID. That's when they got rid of all the Freedom loving, Constitution following cops when they refused to be forced into getting a vaccine. Once they were gone, we were left with goose stepping stormtroopers we have now.

[@timarb5177]

PLEA, the union is clapping back hard, as expected. I live in phx. The public would be better off if there was no police union.

[@TroyJScott]

The Bootlickers out there are struggling to come to terms that these police departments are rotten at the core

[@YouilAushana]

Power corrupts. Absolute power....

[@tomcavness]

Yes, but the DO is MORE rotten.

[@christopherdollbaum8819]

WWDOJD? What Will Department of Justice Do?

[@ronstewart4545]

Unless the leadership is changed, not with more of the same, the weeding out of hundreds of the worst rank and file nothing will change. This organization has shown repeatedly its inability or will to change.

[@YouilAushana]

6:55 just looking for vague umbrella terms "root cause" etc. While scratching his head think about the price of inflation as he tried to process his own bs. Wouldn't your attorney "block" you from speaking?

[@MugRuith]

The reason this review is so harsh compared to other departments across the country is because it is one of the only department wide reviews the DOJ has done. The DOJ is under funded, under staffed, and the political will to look into police abuse has been lacking at all levels of government. Not to mention the backlash from the MAGA thin blue line crowd every time needed reforms are mentioned. If similar reviews were conducted across the nation I have no doubt that similar problems and worse would be found. Policing itself is rampant with corruption and lack of transparency. Qualified immunity and right-wing authoritarianism have allowed this to fester to a point of dysfunction.

[@jamesfarrell7465]

Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, Albuquerque, and others have been living under DOJ law enforcement micro-management "consent decrees" for years now. The results? Alarming crime rates and civil dysfunction for EVERY ONE of them, and their citizens are paying millions of $$ annually for DOJ oversight and increasing civil disintegration. Oh, and a 2024 DOJ budget of $49.4 billion is anything but underfunded. The DOJ is now, and has been, actively seeking to erode robust municipal police forces in a manner that emboldens criminals and demoralizes law enforcement personnel. THAT is a recipe for disaster. Phoenix is not immune to those same results unless we force the DOJ to take us to federal court.

[@douglasoligney1001]

@@jamesfarrell7465 i dont trust the DOJ or their motives ,that does not change the fact that law enforcement on EVERY level is a shitshow at best and more often than not criminal by culture ,every unbiased study or investigation ever done of LEO any where in the country on every level of law enforcement has shown that US law enforcement is among the worst in the developed world in almost every category ,its part of the reason we have the highest incarceration rate in the world by a very long shot

[@tomcavness]

Several problems with what you said. First, the DOJ DOES do this to other departments across the country. It's actually a problem, because what ends up happening is the DOJ takes over and they're actually MORE corrupt than the local Police Departments. Phoenix PD is indeed a problem, but the DOJ would be a worse problem. Secondly, the "Thin Blue Line" crowd is not MAGA. Sure, there are MAGA people in it, but there are also Lefties in it. There is plenty of "the MAGA crowd" that have MANY problems with the way Police Departments are run, starting with the FBI. The problem is people that believe police/government can do no wrong and that they're the answer to everything. Thirdly, though I agree with you that Qualified Immunity is a HUGE problem, I have to point out that authoritarianism is neither right wing nor left wing. And whether it comes from the Right or the Left doesn't matter in the slightest. It's evil either way and needs to be stopped. We have SO many examples of authoritarianism in our current political climate that it's downright scary. If you pretend that the threat only comes from one side, you'll blind yourself to it on the other side. Don't make that mistake.

[@jamesfarrell7465]

Whether ABC15 is willing to admit it or not, their nakedly anti-police efforts, which have assisted and motivated the the Dept. of (in)Justice to conduct this 3-year review, will ultimately result in a Phoenix that is less-safe for law-abiding citizens, and more friendly towards the criminals roaming among us. I find it sad and disgusting that the staff of ABC 15 is taking a "victory lap" over this. Every other American city that has been laboring under DOJ "consent decrees" regarding law enforcement has seen dramatic rises in crime rates while being micro-managed by the DOJ, and has lost more experienced veteran officers as they've fled to work in other jurisdictions due to being demoralized over trying to do their dangerous jobs with their hands tied. Phoenix will slowly experience the same results. And, don't forget that between 2016 and 2022 Phoenix had it's first African-American woman Chief of Police: Jeri Williams. She made tremendous efforts to reform her agency and enhance relations with between police and this community. The DOJ investigation began in 2021 while she was still in office and focused largely on a few unfortunate, high-profile events that occurred between 2016 and 2021. Biscobing, Blasius, and ABC 15 management have assisted the DOJ in slandering the six-year tenure of Chief Williams by cherry-picking some less than perfect law enforcement events over those years and amplifying them into an overall impression that they are commonplace, routine police procedures. Dave, Melissa and others, go ahead and celebrate your "success" in this today. And years from now remember that at least one citizen of Phoenix warned you of what would come to pass: a once-beautiful city dissolving into a chaotic, lawless, dystopian hellscape. When that day comes.... Own it.

[@joetrujillo9371]

Phoenix PD could have simply done their jobs by the book and none of this would have happened. It is their fault that the DOJ needed to step in to assess their behavior. I hope you enjoy the increase in your property tax to fund Phoenix PD's litigation against the DOJ.

[@crinklecut3790]

I don’t want safety at the cost of my freedoms. This local news outlet did real journalism and exposed problems that needed to be fixed. Phoenix hasn’t respected the constitutional rights of its own citizens, and now there are going to be consequences. So be it. Phoenix chose this path for itself.

[@Direct_D]

Officer Farrell, sit down child. Times are changing

[@jamesfarrell7465]

@@joetrujillo9371 I'd rather pay for the City to fight the DOJ on this than pay the DOJ the millions of $$ per year for trying, and failing, to micro-manage Phoenix PD operations under a consent decree. Both Los Angeles and Albuquerque police have been operating under "consent decrees" for years now, at considerable expense and with increasing crime rates to show for it. That's a bad investment.

[@joetrujillo9371]

@@jamesfarrell7465 again, if Phoenix PD would have simply abided by the law, the DOJ wouldn't be involved here. It is their fault it was taken to the level it has come to. Moreover, even you have to admit that the findings are eye opening. I would gladly lose in an investment during the initial years so it pays off when I'm older and my children are grown.

[@colt2206]

All my comments supporting the police department are deleted on here

[@christopherdollbaum8819]

Hard to believe...

[@Gmolldotcom]

Are they going to hit mesa next?

[@toddbatstra645]

Is this the United States or the twilight zone

[@jamesfarrell7465]

Even The Twilight Zone could never have imagined this. This is more Orwellian than 1984.

[@mkepler1]

Thank you Dave and Melissa for your continued reporting these years.

[@canedaunknown2504]

Ok so the investigation is done,outrageous amount of violations,NOW WHAT? what kind and amount of punishment will come from the investigation NOW WHAT??????????

[@tomcavness]

What will happen is the DOJ will take over the Phoenix PD, they will basically be federalized. Since the DOJ is MORE corrupt than the Phoenix PD, this will not benefit us in the least. On the contrary, It will become worse.

[@naui1980]

I wouldn't trust these cops as far as I can throw them. Because you know they're not gonna do a darn thing about fixing the problem so an. Alternative to The general public in my opinion would be stopped helping cops and every way shape and form even if that means you've come across one. That may be an situation begging for help leaking all over the place to which I say. Keep walking, it's not your stop northern duty and you're not qualified. So just my opinion guys might drill business. If you see a cop in trouble share if you like this line of thinking

[@jamesfarrell7465]

Remember your above thoughts on the day you need a police officer to protect you from someone who wishes to harm you.

[@joetrujillo9371]

​@@jamesfarrell7465I hope he remembers it. He has the right to call upon those public servants just like anyone else does. Public servants needs to do their job and "serve and protect".

[@jamesfarrell7465]

@@joetrujillo9371 And they will continue to serve and protect even those, like naui, who are ungrateful for their service and protection. If the day comes when he, and others like him who don't support police, dials 911 for protection, will they then realize how vital a robust police force is to living in a peaceful city?

[@joetrujillo9371]

@@jamesfarrell7465 so they will do their job. That's all I can expect them to do. By the book of course.

[@varunhebli]

​@@jamesfarrell7465 they get paid don't they?

[@YouilAushana]

Wasn't the Phoenix Sheriff a black female?

[@libertylovebryant7026]

THEY HAVE TO GET THRU THE OLD MONEY BEFORE BEING ABLE TO PROCEED

[@angusmackaskill3035]

Nothing, they will continue to do what they do and suffer no consequences

[@YouilAushana]

These people have barely been able to string a legible sentence together.

[@YouilAushana]

What a surprise just in time for the elections. I have been a victim of rational discrimination but luckily never in Arizona. Chicago yes by both blacks and white.

[@frankietyree1953]

Wow! SMH! 😢

[@colt2206]

If you say anything positive about the police department they delete it on here.

[@TroyJScott]

I doubt it. It’s just difficult to find good things to say about the police this day in age

[@colt2206]

Phoenix police department should be the model for other police departments to aspire to. They are doing an excellent job.

[@YouilAushana]

I believe our old chief was a black female. Thanks.