Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Phoenix Police Department

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Abbreviation
  
PHXPD

Preceding agency
  
Phoenix City Marshals

Annual budget
  
$577 million

Formed
  
1881

Employees
  
3,986 (2012)

Phoenix Police Department

Motto
  
To Ensure the Safety and Security for Each Person in our Community

The Phoenix Police Department is the law enforcement agency responsible for the city of Phoenix, Arizona. Today, the Phoenix Police Department comprises more than 2,900 officers and more than 1,000 support personnel. The department serves a population of more than 1.6 million and patrol almost 516 square miles (1,340 km2) of the sixth largest city in the United States.

Contents

History

Phoenix was incorporated as a city on February 5, 1881. Law enforcement was handled by Phoenix city marshals and later by Phoenix police officers. Henry Garfias, the first city marshal, was elected by residents in 1881 in the first elections of the newly incorporated city. For six years, he served as the primary law enforcement officer.

In the early 1900s, the Phoenix Police Department used Old Nelly, the horse, to pull the patrol wagon for officers. Most patrolling, however, was done on foot. The city at this time was only 3.1 square miles (8.0 km2) with a population of 11,134 people. Call boxes were used to notify an officer that headquarters wanted him. These were supplemented by a system of horns and flashing lights.

The first Phoenix police officer to be killed in the line of duty in Phoenix occurred on February 5, 1925. Officer Haze Burch was shot and killed by two brothers on the run from authorities. The men were later arrested when they were found hiding at the Tempe Buttes.

In 1929, patrolmen worked six days a week and were paid $100 a month. The police department moved into the west section of the new city-county building at 17 South 2nd Avenue. The building included jail cells on the top two floors. In 1933, Ruth Meicher joined the police department as the first female jail matron. The city at this time was only 6.4 square miles (17 km2), with a population of 48,200. In the year prior, the first police radio system in Arizona was installed for the department with the call letters KGZJ.

The department reorganized in 1950 with four divisions, Traffic, Detectives, Patrol and Service Divisions. Officers worked 44 hours per week for $288 per month. In 1974, the Air patrol unit was established initially consisting of one helicopter. A few months later, a fixed wing aircraft and two additional helicopters were added.

In 2008, the department formed the Block Watch program, which is a partnership between citizens and the police department to help deter youth from crime. The department also runs a similar program under the name G.A.I.N. which stands for Getting Arizona Involved in Neighborhoods.

Structure

The Phoenix Police Department is divided into six divisions: Patrol, Management Services, Support Services, Investigations, Strategic Services, and Reserve.

Patrol Division

The Phoenix Police Department Patrol Division is organized into seven precincts.

Desert Horizon (600)

The Desert Horizon precinct covers 74.92 square miles with an approximate population of 311,770 residents. This precinct also runs the Sunnyslope Neighborhood Police Station.

Black Mountain Precinct (200)

The Black Mountain Precinct covers 182 square miles with a population of 224,000 residents. This precinct also is responsible for the Goelet A.C. Beuf Neighborhood Police Station.

Cactus Park (900)

The Cactus Park precinct covers an area of 30 square miles with a population of 188,000 residents.

Mountain View (700)

The Mountain View precinct covers an area of 36.71 square miles with a population of 214,386.

Central City (500)

The Central City precinct covers 18 square miles with a population of 91,000.

Maryvale (800)

The Maryvale precinct covers 15.23 square miles with a population of 116,160.

South Mountain (400)

The South Mountain precinct covers 115.0 square miles with a population of 271,785.

Rank Structure

After ten years in the rank of Sergeant, employees are authorized to add one rocker to the bottom of the sergeant stripes. After fifteen years in rank, two rockers are authorized and after twenty years in the rank of sergeant, three rockers are authorized to be added to the sergeant stripes. There is no associated elevation in actual rank, and no additional pay, as these extra rockers are optional and only meant to distinguish time in the grade and are not a promotion.

The Phoenix Police Department also uses shoulder patches to denote the positions of Sergeant-in-Training and Field Training Officer, although these are not official supervisory ranks.

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 performed. He was ordered to pay over $6,000 to groups he had defrauded. Contreras resigned from the department before his court appearance.

    • Fallen officers

    Since 1925, the Phoenix Police Department has suffered a total of 38 deaths in the line of duty.

    References

    Phoenix Police Department Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA