Phoenix Police Department - Controversies

Controversies

• On March 13, 1963, Phoenix Police Officers Carroll Cooley and Wilfred Young arrested Ernesto Miranda for kidnapping, rape, and armed robbery. The department got a written confession by Miranda, after interrogation, without informing him of his rights. This led to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona.

• On October 5, 2010, Phoenix Police Officer Richard Chrisman, who was responding to a call of a domestic disturbance, entered a mobile home in which Danny Rodriguez lived. Witnesses say that after Rodriguez confronted Chrisman saying that he needed a warrant to enter the home, Chrisman then put his service pistol to Rodriguez's head and yelled "I don't need a warrant, motherfucker". Court papers then say that an argument ensued, and at some point officers used both tasers and pepper spray on Rodriguez. Some time after this, Chrisman then shot the family's dog, and in a scuffle over a bike, shot and killed an unarmed Rodriguez. Chrisman, initially arrested on aggravated assault, has since been charged with second degree murder in the death of Danny Rodriguez.

• In August 2011, Officer Jeffrey Gordon was suspended from his job for four days for touching a female city worker inappropriately. The incident received attention in the press as the policeman was the son of Mayor Phil Gordon.

• In September 2011, Officer Jason A. Brooks beat a handcuffed suspect. He resigned from the department and in July 2012 pleaded guilty to a single charge of disorderly conduct and was sentenced to a day on parole.

• In July 2012, press reports indicated that Sergeant Arnold Davis was caught on a video camera stealing thousands of dollars from a business while he was there on official business. Davis, represented by a lawyer from the Phoenix Police Sergeants and Lieutenants Association began negotiating an early retirement to avoid criminal charges.

• In August, 2012, Detective Christopher J. Wilson resigned from the department when he was accused of ten counts of sex with underaged boys. Wilson pleaded not guilty to the charges.

• In December 2012, Detective George Contreras pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge that he made false reports concerning after-hours security he work for which he was paid, but that he never did. He was ordered to pay over $6, 000 to groups he had defrauded. Contreras resigned from the department before his court appearance.