Item 3 - Attachment A (Redline Version).pdf

City of Phoenix — City Council Policy Session (2020-10-13)

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ORDINANCE G-______ 
AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING THE GOVERNING 
LANGUAGE FOR OFFICE OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND 
TRANSPARENCY BY CREATING A NEW CHAPTER 20 
OF THE PHOENIX CITY CODE; AND ESTABLISHING AN 
EFFECTIVE DATE. 
_______________ 
WHEREAS, the mission of the Office of Accountability and Transparency 
(the “OAT”) is to provide for independent review of the Phoenix Police Department; and, 
WHEREAS, the OAT is hereby created as a new City administrative office 
under the City Manager; and, 
WHEREAS, the City is responsive to community requests for independent 
commendations or registration of a complaint against a sworn member of the 
Department; and,   
WHEREAS, the OAT will ensure that a complaint is fairly and objectively 
resolved either through mutually acceptable mediation or as a result of a thorough and 
fair investigation. The OAT shall meet these objectives by monitoring or directly 
participating in the investigation of use of force, in custody deaths, and other matters of 
public interest, and by making suggestions regarding discipline; and,  
WHEREAS, the OAT shall research, analyze, and share information with 
the Police Chief, City Manager, and community designed to improve the policies, 
practices, procedures, training, and community engagement activities of the Phoenix 
Police Department; and, 
WHEREAS, the OAT shall prepare and provide transparent reports to the 
public to help educate and inform the community; and,  
WHEREAS, the OAT will create a team of competent, dedicated, and 
independent staff to function as a conduit that in the long run shall encourage an 
environment where the broader community can have greater trust of its police 
department and through increased accountability and transparencythe department will 
have greater connectivity to the community it serves.  
ATTACHMENT A (REDLINE VERSION)
THIS IS A DRAFT COPY ONLY AND IS NOT AN OFFICIAL 
COPY OF THE FINAL, ADOPTED ORDINANCE.
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Ordinance G-_______ 
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHOENIX AS 
FOLLOWS: 
 
SECTION 1. CHAPTER 20, OFFICE OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND 
TRANSPARENCY, IS ADDED AS FOLLOWS: 
 
Chapter 20. OFFICE OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY ........................... 2 
Article I. Creation of Civilian Review................................................................................ 2 
Sec. 20-1.  Office of Accountability and Transparency Created. .................................. 2 
Sec. 20-2. Reserved. .................................................................................................... 3 
Sec. 20-3. Reserved. .................................................................................................... 3 
Article II. Office of Accountability and Transparency ....................................................... 3 
Sec. 20-4.  Appointment, Qualification, and Removal of Director. ................................ 3 
Sec. 20-5.  OAT Staff. .................................................................................................. 3 
Sec. 20-6.  Mandatory Oversight by the OAT. .............................................................. 4 
Sec. 20-7.  Discretionary Oversight by the OAT. .......................................................... 5 
Sec. 20-8.  Public Reporting by the OAT. ................................................................. 665 
Sec.20-9.  Confidentiality. ........................................................................................ 776 
Sec. 20-10.  Internal Investigations. ............................................................................. 7 
Sec. 20-11.  Role of the OAT in the Disciplinary Process. ....................................... 887 
Sec. 20-12.  OAT Access to Records and Other Items. ........................................... 887 
Sec. 20-13. Response to OAT Recommendations. .................................................. 998 
Article III. RESERVED ..................................................................................................... 9 
Article IV. Miscellaneous ................................................................................................. 9 
Sec. 20-25. Definitions. ................................................................................................ 9 
Sec. 20-26.  Retaliation prohibited. ...................................................................... 10109 
 
CHAPTER 20. OFFICE OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY  
ARTICLE I. CREATION OF CIVILIAN REVIEW 
Sec. 20-1.  Office of Accountability and Transparency Created. 
A. The Office of Accountability and Transparency (the “OAT” or "Director” - see 
definitions) for the City of Phoenix shall consist of a full-time Director with 
appropriate professional and support staff.  
B. The OAT Director shall have such staff and budget as the city council may 
prescribe. The Director shall appoint all other members staff of the OAT. The 
appropriations to pay for the expenses of the tOAT during each fiscal year shall be 
determined by the City Council as part of the annual City budget process. 
 
C. The DirectorOAT shall take community complaints or commendations,; establish 
procedures for receiving anonymous complaints, conduct outreach with the 
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Ordinance G-_______ 
community, support services to impacted community members, actively monitor and 
or participate in some investigations of uniformed personnelthe Department; make 
recommendations to the Police Chief regarding administrative action, including 
possible discipline for such uniformed personnelthe Department; make 
recommendations regarding policy issues; assist with mediation to resolve disputes; 
administer a youth outreach program; and address other issues of concern to the 
community.  
D. The DirectorOAT shall establish standards of professional conduct and a 
comprehensive training program for its staff to conduct monitor and or participate in 
investigations of allegations or inquiries received against a sworn member of the 
Phoenix Police Department (“Police”)the Department.  
Sec. 20-2. Reserved. 
 
Sec. 20-3. Reserved. 
 
ARTICLE II. OFFICE OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY  
Sec. 20-4.  Appointment, Qualification, and Removal of Director. 
A.   The City Manager shall direct the recruitment for the Director with the 
assistance of Human Resources or other entity designated by the City Manager. 
B.   The Director shall serve at the pleasure of the City Manager. Prior to removal of 
the Director, the City Manager shall consult with the Civilian Review Board 
(“Board”) in Executive session regarding the intention to remove the Director. 
However, the City Manager may take any personnel action, including 
administrative leave or termination, if determined in the best interests of the City, 
in the City Manager’s sole discretion. 
Sec. 20-5.  DirectorOAT Staff. 
A.  The Director and all staff shall be committed to implementing the provisions of 
this chapter in an honest, independent and impartial fashion and to upholding 
public confidence in the integrity of the OAT.  
A.B. 
 The Director shall hire OAT staff who shall work under the Director’s 
supervision.  
B.C. 
  Staff OAT staff are employees of the City of Phoenix and must follow the 
City personnel rules. 
C.D. 
 Neither the Director nor any employees in the Director’s OAT’s office, 
nor their immediate family members, shall have formerly been employees of the 
Phoenix any Police law enforcement agency department. 
D.E. 
  The Director will hire one or more attorneys as staff to advise and 
represent the DirectorOAT with respect to its work, provided:  
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Ordinance G-_______ 
1. any such attorney is admitted to the bar of the State of Arizona; and  
2. any such attorney must not provide legal advice or representation to any 
department or function of the City of Phoenix other than the DirectorOAT; 
and.  
3. All financial, personnel and administrative functions of any such attorney 
shall be under the jurisdiction of the City Manager or Director and shall not 
be under the jurisdiction of the City Attorney. ; and 
3.4. 
Any such attorney cannot have personally participated in a lawsuit 
against the City of Phoenix or Department. 
E.F. 
 To retain outside legal counsel to advise and represent the Director OAT 
with respect to its work, provided: 
1. Counsel is retained pursuant to the standard terms of engagement then 
used by the City Attorney, including any limitations on fees or costs; and 
2. the costs of such representation are paid from the budget of the Director 
OAT and not from the budget of the City Attorney; and 
3. the Director provides the City Attorney with notice of the engagement, 
including the firm selected and a copy of the engagement agreement; and 
4. in no situation may the Director OAT use staff counsel or outside counsel 
in litigation by the Director or OAT against the City. 
F.G. 
Nothing in the preceding provisions shall be construed to alter the 
authority of the City Council or the City Attorney with regard to the defense of 
claims against the City or individual City defendants, the settlement of monetary 
or other claims against the City or individual City defendants, or any other 
powers or duties of the City Attorney. 
Sec. 20-6.  Mandatory Oversight by the DirectorOAT. 
A.   The Director OAT shall actively monitor and or participate in any administrative 
investigation of the incidents set forth below when the investigation is conducted 
by the Police ChiefDepartment. The DirectorOAT will not participate in criminal 
investigations. 
B.  If the Professional Standards Bureau ("PSB") Department investigates any 
incidents set forth below, the DirectorOAT shall actively monitor and or 
participate in the PSB investigations: 
1. Any shooting involving uniformed personnel, whether duty related or not; 
2. Any in-custody death; 
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Ordinance G-_______ 
3. Any duty-related incident during which, or as a result of which, anyone 
dies or suffers serious bodily injury as that term is defined in A.R.S. § 13-
105(39), as it may be amended from time to time; 
4. An allegation brought by a resident against a sworn officer; 
4. If no criminal charges are filed subsequent to an investigation, or such 
criminal charges are dismissed, the OAT shall have the discretion to monitor 
or participate in any internal investigation arising from the subject incidents: 
5. a. .Any incident, whether or not duty-related, in which police department 
uniformed personnel is under investigation for, or charged with, any crime set 
forth in A.R.S. tit. 13, Chapters 11, 12, 13 and 14 (offenses against the person, 
which includes homicide, assault, kidnapping, and unlawful sexual behavior) 
as they may be amended from time to time; or 
6. b.Any incident, whether or not duty-related, in which police department 
uniformed personnel is under investigation for, or charged by, any jurisdiction 
with a misdemeanor or local law violation in which a use of force (defined as 
assaulting, beating, striking, fighting, or inflicting violence on a person) or 
threatened use of force is an element of the offense. 
C.  With respect to paragraphs 4., 5., and 6. of subsection (B), if no criminal 
charges are filed subsequent to an investigation, or such criminal charges are 
dismissed, the Director shall have the discretion to monitor any internal 
investigation arising from the subject incident. 
D.   In addition, the DirectorOAT shall monitor or participate in any other internal 
investigation of possible misconduct by uniformed personnel when requested to 
do so by the Board or City Manager. The Board or City Manager shall advise the 
DirectorOAT of the reasons why the Board or the City Manager believes the 
DirectorOAT should monitor or participate in the investigation.  
E.   The DirectorOAT may also make any recommendations to the City Manager or 
Police Chief regarding the sufficiency of the investigation, determinations as to 
whether department rules or policies have been violated, and the 
appropriateness of disciplinary sanctions, if any.  
F.  The Police ChiefDepartment shall as soon as practicable, notify the DirectorOAT 
upon becoming aware of: 
1. An incident described in subsection B, or 
2. An incident, whether or not duty-related, in which a police department 
uniformed personnel is under investigation for, or charged by, a jurisdiction 
with a misdemeanor or felony. 
 
Sec. 20-7.  Discretionary Oversight by the DirectorOAT. 
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Ordinance G-_______ 
A. 
The DirectorOAT shall have the discretion to monitor or participate in any internal 
Police Department investigation of any civilian or employee complaint, including: 
Improper use of force; 
Discrimination based upon race, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, 
gender variance, disability, religion, or political affiliation; 
Retaliation for making a complaint against the police; or 
Discourtesy. 
B. 
The DirectorOAT shall also have the discretion to monitor or participate in any 
internal investigation by the Police ChiefDepartment which the DirectorOAT, the 
City Manager or the Board believes recommends asis in the City's best interest 
for the DirectorOAT to be involved.  
C. 
Upon exercising discretion to monitor or participate in an investigation identified 
in subsection A or B, the DirectorOAT shall immediately notify the following 
parties of the investigation: 
1. 
The Board,  and   
 
2. 
The the Police Chief, and  
3. 
the City Manager. 
Sec. 20-8.  Public Reporting by the DirectorOAT. 
A.  No later than March 15 of each year, the DirectorOAT shall submit an annual 
public report to the City Manager and the Board: 
1. setting forth the work of the DirectorOAT during the prior calendar year; 
2.  identifying trends regarding complaints, investigations, and discipline of police 
including, but without identifying specific persons,  
i. information regarding uniformed personnel who were the subject 
of multiple complaints,  
ii. complainants who filed multiple complaints, and  
iii. issues that were raised by multiple complaints; and  
3. making recommendations regarding the sufficiency of investigations and the 
appropriateness of disciplinary actions, if any  
4. recommendations for changes to policies, rules, and training, and 
5. policy rules or training revisions implemented by the Police ChiefDepartment. 
A. The report shall present information in statistical and summary form, without 
identifying specific persons, except to the extent that incidents involving specific 
persons have otherwise been made public by the City of Phoenix. 
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Ordinance G-_______ 
B. In addition to the annual report, the DirectorOAT shall publish a quarterly status 
report, which shall be available to the public and which shall include, among other 
things, patterns relating to complaints and recommendations regarding the 
sufficiency of investigations and determinations as to whether department rules and 
policies have been violated.  
C. Based upon an analysis of reports and other information available to the 
DirectorOAT, the DirectorOAT shall make timely recommendations to the Police 
Chief and the City Manager. 
D. The DirectorOAT has the discretion to publish additional public reports throughout 
the year about matters within the duties of the DirectorOAT. 
 
Sec.20-9.  Confidentiality. 
A. The DirectorOAT, its staff, the Board, and all consultants and experts hired by the 
DirectorOAT shall treat all documents and information regarding specific 
investigations or officers as confidential except to the extent needed to carry out 
their duties. 
B. The Director shall not discuss with any person or group, including the members of 
the Board, the status of any criminal investigation, other than the fact that a 
criminal investigation has not been completed and any anticipated date by which a 
criminal investigation may be completed. 
C. The Director, the Board, and all persons who participate in the Police's 
investigative and disciplinary processes are part of the City's deliberative process 
regarding investigative and disciplinary procedures for personnel. Furthermore, all 
deliberations and recommendations learned by any of those persons or groups 
during the exercise of their duties shall be protected by the deliberative process 
privilegefrom disclosure to the extent allowable by law.  
Sec. 20-10.  Internal Investigations. 
A. The Police ChiefDepartment shall cooperate with the DirectorOAT in actively 
monitoring and or participating in internal investigations, including being present to 
monitor and or participate in interviews of witnesses and persons under internal 
investigation. The Police ChiefDepartment shall establish departmental policies 
regarding that cooperation. The policies shall ensure that the Police 
ChiefDepartment provides the DirectorOAT with reasonable notice of and 
opportunity to attend interviews, the opportunity to make recommendations 
regarding investigations, and reasonable timeframes to complete the steps in the 
internal investigatory process.  
B. For any investigation that it monitors or participates, the DirectorOAT shall review 
the investigation to ensure that it is thorough and complete. 
C. If the DirectorOAT cannot certify that the investigation is thorough and complete, 
the DirectorOAT may recommend that the Police ChiefDepartment conduct 
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Ordinance G-_______ 
additional investigation. The DirectorOAT must be specific in outlining issues it 
has with the investigation. 
D. If the Police ChiefDepartment does not complete the additional investigation to 
the satisfaction of the DirectorOAT, the DirectorOAT may write a separate 
recommendation to the Police Chief and City Manager, which is only advisory. 
 
 Sec. 20-11.  Role of the DirectorOAT in the Disciplinary Process. 
A. The Police ChiefDepartment shall cooperate with the DirectorOAT in monitoring 
the disciplinary process. The Police ChiefDepartment shall establish 
departmental policies regarding that cooperation. The policies shall ensure that 
the Police ChiefDepartment provide the DirectorOAT with reasonable notice and 
opportunity to: 
1. Receive notice and opportunity to comment prior to entering agreements, 
whether written or oral, resulting in the closure of internal investigations or 
the disciplinary process; 
2. Make recommendations regarding determinations as to whether 
department rules or policies have been violated; 
3. Make recommendations regarding the appropriateness of disciplinary 
sanctions, if any; 
4. Furthermore, the policies shall provide for reasonable time frames to 
complete the steps in the disciplinary process consistent with Arizona law. 
 
Sec. 20-12.  DirectorOAT Access to Records and Other Items. 
A.   The Police ChiefDepartment and all City employees shall fully cooperate with 
the DirectorOAT by providing the DirectorOAT, within a reasonable amount of 
time, complete access to records, information, documents, files, reports, 
evidence, databases, and all other items, whether in paper, electronic, or other 
form, that the DirectorOAT requests in order to perform its duties set forth in the 
provisions of this Chapter, but not including documents protected by the 
attorney-client privilege or the attorney work product privilege or any document 
that must not be disclosed to the DirectorOAT pursuant to federal, state, or local 
law or federal or state regulation. 
B.   If, in response to a request from the DirectorOAT, records, and information 
cannot be produced at all or produced within a reasonable amount of time, a 
written explanation, sufficiently detailed for an understanding of why the records 
or documents cannot be produced, shall be promptly provided. The DirectorOAT 
shall not be required to pay for copies of the materials set forth in this section, 
including copies of documents previously supplied by the departments, provided 
that the DirectorOAT may not use those departments as a printing service to 
make multiple copies of individual documents. 
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Ordinance G-_______ 
C.  The Police ChiefDepartment shall provide the DirectorOAT with an opportunity 
to participate in any committee or working groups involving external 
stakeholders convened to draft or revise policies or practices concerning 
matters within the DirectorOAT’s authority. 
D.  The Police ChiefDepartment shall provide the DirectorOAT with reasonable 
notice and an opportunity to make recommendations before implementing an 
existing or adopting a new substantive policy or practice concerning matters 
within the DirectorOAT’s authority. When a policy or practice necessitates an 
immediate revision or implementation due to a change in the law, the 
DirectorOAT will be notified as soon as practicable about the change. 
E. If the DirectorOAT receives or is in possession of evidence or vital information 
pertaining to a case under investigation, it must turn give or communicate that 
evidence or information over to the Police ChiefDepartment promptly.  and 
Evidence must be in the exact same condition that it was received. 
Sec. 20-13. Response to DirectorOAT Recommendations. 
A. The DirectorOAT shall make recommendations to the Police ChiefDepartment 
about matters within the DirectorOAT’s authority. If requested by the DirectorOAT 
in writing, the Police ChiefDepartment shall respond in writing within thirty (30) 
days and shall specify: 
1. Either agreement with recommendations or specific reasons for 
disagreement with recommendations; 
2. Plans for implementing solutions to issues identified; and 
3. A timetable to complete such activities. 
B. Recommendations made by the DirectorOAT and any responses shall be open 
to inspection except as otherwise not subject to disclosure under state, federal, 
or local law or regulation.  
B.C. 
The City Manager may act as an arbiter between the OAT and 
Department. 
ARTICLE III. RESERVED 
 
Sec. 20-14 to Sec. 20-24 – RESERVED. 
ARTICLE IV. MISCELLANEOUS 
 
Sec. 20-25. Definitions.  
A. City Manager means the City of Phoenix City Manager or designee. 
 
 
B. Director means Office of Accountability and Transparency or the head of the 
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Ordinance G-_______ 
Office of Accountability and Transparency, or designee. 
 
B.C. 
OAT means the Office of Accountability and Transparency and its staff. 
 
D. Police Chief means the Chief of the City of Phoenix Police Department, or 
designee 
 
C.E. 
Department means , the City of Phoenix Police Chief Department and any 
police department uniformed personnel. 
 
D. Uniformed personnel means all sworn members of the Phoenix Police 
department. 
 
 Sec. 20-26.  Retaliation prohibited. 
A.   No person shall retaliate against, punish, intimidate, discourage, threaten or 
penalize any other person for reporting misconduct, making a misconduct 
complaint, conducting an investigation, complaining to officials, providing 
information, testimony or documents in an investigation or cooperating with or 
assisting the DirectorOAT in the performance of its powers and duties as set 
forth in this chapter.  
B.   Any employee who violates this provision shall be subject to appropriate 
disciplinary action, up to and including termination from employment. 
C.   The remedies specified herein are cumulative and the City Manager, or the City 
Attorney, may proceed under these or any other remedies authorized by law. In 
addition to any other authorized remedies, a person who violates any provision 
of this chapter section shall beshall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Each day 
of violation shall may be a separate offense. 
D.  Director The OAT shall develop specialized processes to intake and investigate 
complaints made by officers within the Department that prefer to remain 
anonymous. The OATOffice shall recommend to the City Manager implement 
protections processes to protectfor potential “whistleblowers or informers.”   
 
 
 
 
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Ordinance G-_______ 
SECTION 2. The provisions of this Ordinance shall be effective MONTH 
___, 2020. 
PASSED by the City Council of the City of Phoenix this ___ day of 
_______ 2020. 
_________________________________ 
 
 
 
M A Y O R 
ATTEST:  
Denise Archibald, City Clerk 
 
 
 
  
 
APPROVED AS TO FORM:  
Cris Meyer, City Attorney 
 
_____________________________ 
  
 
 
REVIEWED BY:  
Ed Zuercher, City Manager 
 
 
  
 
 
 
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