PHOENIX — Phoenix residents who have spoken out against police brutality hailed on Friday a scathing U.S. Justice Department report outlining a pattern of excessive force and racial discrimination, saying it lays blame not just at the feet of law enforcement but the leaders of the nation's fifth-largest city.
Jarrett Maupin, a Phoenix-based activist known for working with victims of police violence, said the city owes the impacted families an apology and financial compensation.
''The city owes these families an apology. And more than that, they owe them, literally and figuratively, millions of dollars because of the injuries sustained, the deaths they've sustained, the losses they've sustained,'' Maupin said.
The sweeping civil rights investigation found ''overwhelming statistical evidence'' that Phoenix police discriminate against Black, Hispanic and Native American people, as well as unlawfully detain homeless people and use excessive force. The report says investigators found stark contrasts in how officers enforce certain — especially low-level — crimes depending on a person's race and that officers tended to fire their weapons unnecessarily or ''unreasonably delay'' aid to those they injured.
Dravon Ames, who received a payout from the city after officers pointed their guns at him and his pregnant fiancée in 2019, told reporters Friday that he finally felt like his voice was being heard. At the time police cited having shoplifting suspicion, but no one was ever charged. The couple says that, unbeknownst to them, their young daughter had taken a doll from a store. He hopes the city of Phoenix will go along with federal court-ordered reforms.
''I think if they sign a decree and get monitoring and get on the right path, there will be a change to happen,'' Ames said. ''That's the whole point of their findings. They (the DOJ) have let them know there's a problem, you know, and it's 126 pages of problems.''
Ben Crump, the Florida-based attorney who has become the voice for Black people killed at the hands of police and vigilantes, represents the family of Akeem Terrell, a man who died in a jail in Phoenix in 2021. He said he hopes the report's recommendations will mean improving the policing culture.
''While we are still fighting for justice for Akeem, we continue to also fight for those who are still here with us. There shouldn't be another Akeem Terrell," Crump said in a statement. "It is critical that police departments follow guidance like that of the DOJ to better protect our communities.''
