U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division

  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On August 5, 2021, the Department of Justice opened a pattern or practice investigation of the Phoenix Police Department (PhxPD) and the City of Phoenix (“the City” or “Phoenix”). Our investigation revealed systemic problems within PhxPD that deprive people of their rights under the Constitution and federal law. We found pervasive failings in PhxPD’s policies, training, supervision, and accountability systems that have disguised and perpetuated these violations for years

The Department of Justice has reasonable cause to believe that the City of Phoenix and the Phoenix Police Department engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of their rights under the Constitution and federal law: • PhxPD uses excessive force, including unjustified deadly force and other types of force. • PhxPD and the City unlawfully detain, cite, and arrest people experiencing homelessness and unlawfully dispose of their belongings. • PhxPD discriminates against Black, Hispanic, and Native American people when enforcing the law. • PhxPD violates the rights of people engaged in protected speech and expression. • PhxPD and the City discriminate against people with behavioral health disabilities when dispatching calls for assistance and responding to people in crisis 

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, 2024.