People who say they were victimized by Phoenix Police react to DOJ report

Fallout continues from the Department of Justice report on Phoenix PD's pattern of violating of civil rights, use of excessive force and discriminatory policing. 

More than 20 people who say they - or their loved ones - were victims of police brutality spoke in a news conference. 

"We didn’t have a voice or it didn’t matter.," said Dravon Ames. "I feel like black people, brown people, we didn’t have a voice so it didn’t matter. So the DOJ stepping in and saying and having evidence of all the stuff we’ve been screaming, crying for, protesting for, it has some matter to it. We haven’t just been doing it for no reason." 

In 2019, an officer forced Ames against a cop car, sweeping his right leg while shouting profanities at him and held Ames' fiance at gunpoint in front of their children after their daughter took a doll from a store. 

It led to the officer's firing and a near 500-hundred-thousand dollar settlement. 

Featured

Phoenix City Council approves settlement over controversial 2019 police encounter with Black family

The violent encounter was captured on camera, but police and the family have provided conflicting information on what happened before.

What are the top concerns in the DOJ report

An issue at the top of these findings is that Phoenix PD uses excessive force and unjustified deadly force. 

The DOJ says through their investigation, Phoenix PD supervisors determined that 99% of force incidents complied with policy in 2022 and in training, they observed, officers were taught to use force when people do not immediately comply with commands. 

The DOJ's review says officers used unreasonable force in a "significant share of incidents" in 2021 and 2022. 

Issues in dealing with shooting incidents

According to the DOJ, families have also voiced frustrations about how they’ve been treated after a shooting – some still waiting years to recover loved one’s possessions. 

Meanwhile, the city is going to thoroughly review the findings and then reach out to the DOJ in several weeks for further dialogue.

PhoenixNewsCrime and Public Safety