The Phoenix Police Department said three officers violated department policy after they created a fake gang and falsely charged 18 protesters as gang members during an October 2020 demonstration, but those law enforcement officials will not be disciplined for their actions.
Details on the review were released six years after the incident
After a thorough review of the criminal and internal investigations against the group, Chief Matt Giordano determined that three of the six officers investigated by the PPD’s Professional Standards Bureau violated department policy.
However, those officers are retired and will not be reprimanded for their roles in the city scandal, sources familiar with the matter told ABC15 and a news release from the Phoenix Police Department.
The incident occurred on Oct. 17, 2020, when 18 protesters were arrested in the downtown Phoenix area. Former Officer Joseph Crowley made arrests after mistakenly believing former Sergeant James Groat called for the arrests. Through PSB interviews, agency investigators determined that Groat did not give permission to make arrests and that Crowley misunderstood his statements, according to records obtained by ABC15.
The records also stated that Crowley did not verify probable cause for the arrests with Groat and wrote a supplemental Incident Report (IR) about the arrest, which contained false information. The body camera footage also invalidated the information Crowley had provided in the report. PSB investigators also determined that the false information Crowley provided in his IR prompted former Sergeant Doug McBride and Officer Jeffrey Raymond to provide false testimony before a grand jury unknowingly.
Another former officer, Alex Volk, submitted the Form IV statement with probable cause for the arrests, which also contained false information. PSB investigators found that Crowley had actually submitted the document under Volks credentials, according to the records. Volk was not involved in the protester arrests and was unaware of his own arrest.
Volk, Crowley and McBride are the three officers who violated department policy by “providing false information and taking actions that jeopardized the status of a criminal or administrative investigation or prosecution,” Sgt. Lorraine Fernandez said, according to AZFamily.
Days after the arrests, PPD and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office teamed up and created a false gang, leading to the 18 protesters being arrested and charged as gang members.
The police and county officials lied to the grand jury to make the charges stick, stating that the street gang was compared to the crips, Bloods and Hells Angels, according to a confidential transcript obtained by ABC15 and AZ Family.
The three other police officers investigated did not commit any wrongdoing or violate department policy.
After review, the charges against the protesters were dismissed
“The actions surrounding these events fall short of our standards and expectations. The Department then and now strives to make continuous improvements. Since 2020, the City Council has directed and the Police Department has implemented improvements to strengthen accountability, improve transparency, and ensure constitutional rights are protected in every interaction,” the department stated further, per the news release.
It continued, “While these reforms cannot erase the impact on those affected, they reflect our commitment to accountability,
collaboration, and continuous improvement. We remain steadfast in our mission to serve with integrity,
fairness, and respect for the rights of all individuals.”
The case outcome revealed how the charges against the protesters were false and later dismissed. Several county officials admitted to misconduct, with the lead prosecutor being suspended from practicing law for two years. A large group of the targeted protesters filed a lawsuit against the City of Phoenix and the Maricopa County Attorney’s office. The complaint was settled in December for $6 million. While most of the protesters dropped out of the case, only two remain.
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