Attachment A 2-7-24 Submitted by Roland Harris.pdf

Attachment A

CITIZEN’S PETITION TO PHOENIX CITY COUNCIL

WHEREAS, the Phoenix Police Department, under the leadership of Mayor caleybina 7 PH 495
Council, has become the deadliest police force in the country, and engages in ra attern andi SEPT

practice of using unconstitutional excessive force, including deadly force, agains Phosiiix’
residents, particularly residents of color;

WHEREAS, the Phoenix Police Department, under the leadership of Mayor Gallego and
Council, regularly engages in a pattern and practice of discriminatory policing against Phoenix
residents of color, Phoenix residents with disabilities, and Phoenix’s unsheltered population;

WHEREAS, the Phoenix Police Department, under the leadership of Mayor Gallego and
Council, regularly engages in a pattern and practice of retaliatory policing against individuals
who are — or who are perceived to be — expressing viewpoints critical of the police. This
includes a pattern and practice of using excessive force against actual and perceived anti-police
demonstrators in the form of tear gas, pepper-spray, pepper balls, and other kinetic munitions,
as well as a pattern and practice of maliciously prosecuting innocent demonstrators to silence
and intimidate them. This includes making up a fictional criminal street gang, fabricating
evidence, and lying about the factual basis for false charges;

WHEREAS, the Phoenix Police Department, under the leadership of Mayor Gallego and
Council, regularly engages in a pattern and practice of using excessive force against children,
particularly children of color;

WHEREAS, the Phoenix Police Department, under the leadership of Mayor Gallego and
Council, regularly engages in a pattern and practice of unlawfully harassing Phoenix’s
unsheltered population;

WHEREAS, the Phoenix Police Department, under the leadership of Mayor Gallego and
Council, regularly engages in a pattern and practice of unlawfully seizing the personal property
of the unsheltered population in Phoenix;

WHEREAS, Mayor Gallego and Council have known about these issues for years, and have
allowed the Phoenix Police Department to continue to violate the constitutional rights of Phoenix
residents with near impunity — failing to investigate and discipline problem officers, and failing to
pass and/or implement meaningful changes within the Department;

WHEREAS, Mayor Gallego’s and Council’s weak oversight and failure to hold the Phoenix
Police Department accountable have contributed to a constitutional crisis within the Phoenix
Police Department;

WHEREAS, Mayor Gallego’s and Council's refusal to exercise oversight over the Phoenix
Police Department, and their repeated failure to hold them accountable for unconstitutional acts,
represents a dereliction of duty and breaches of their oaths of office;

WHEREAS, these derelictions of duty have undermined public trust and safety, and led to the
pressing need for independent oversight of the Phoenix Police Department; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Justice, in August 2021, announced a pattern and practices
investigation into the City of Phoenix and Phoenix Police Department to determine whether the
City and/or PPD violated the Constitutional and/or federal law;

Pursuant to Chapter IV, Section 22 of the Phoenix City Charter, |, Roland Harris, a citizen and
resident of the City of Phoenix, hereby petition the City Council to:

Enact a resolution calling on the Department of Justice (the “Department) to publicly release its
full investigatory report of the City of Phoenix and the City of Phoenix Police Department, as
soon as such investigation and report are complete and final. The investigatory report released
should include the totality of the Department of Justice’s findings against the City of Phoenix and
the City of Phoenix Police Department, as well as all factual bases for the findings, and should
not be a mere summary of the Department's findings.