Regional task force to take over use-of-force cases
May 31—Following a state law passed in 2022, the Mesa Police Department is changing the way it investigates officer-involved shootings and other use-of-force incidents in Mesa. Starting in July, officers from outside police departments will conduct criminal investigations of police-involved shootings and other "critical force incidents" Investigators with Mesa PD, in turn, will travel to ... The Mesa Police Department is joining a regional task force to take over the investigation of officer-involved shootings and other "critical force incidents" following a state law passed in 2022, which requires outside agencies to conduct officer-related investigations by June 2025. Starting in July, officers from outside police departments will conduct criminal investigations of these incidents. Investigators with Mesa PD will also travel to neighboring municipalities to investigate use-of-force incidents in partner communities. The East Valley Critical Incident Response Team, which includes eight police departments from nearby cities and towns, will be led by a newly minted regional taskforce. The task force's scope includes non-firearm force incidents that result in death or serious injury or high-profile incidents involving misconduct allegations. The new state law gives police departments three options for outside investigations: a new unit of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, another police department or a region task force. Supporters believe this change will instill public confidence in the integrity of use-off-force investigations. In 2022, Mesa paid $13.4 million to settle 11 claims of excessive force and wrongful death by settling cases involving excessive force or excessive death.
发表 : 11 个月前 经过 Scott Shumaker, East Valley Tribune (Mesa, Ariz.) 在 Politics
Regional task force to take over use-of-force cases
May 31—Following a state law passed in 2022, the Mesa Police Department is changing the way it investigates officer-involved shootings and other use-of-force incidents in Mesa.
Starting in July, officers from outside police departments will conduct criminal investigations of police-involved shootings and other "critical force incidents"
Investigators with Mesa PD, in turn, will travel to neighboring municipalities to investigate use-of-force incidents in partner communities.
The investigations will be conducted under the guidelines of a newly minted regional taskforce called the East Valley Critical Incident Response Team.
The coalition includes eight police departments from nearby cities and towns: Apache Junction, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Paradise Valley, Scottsdale, Tempe and Queen Creek. Last week, the Mesa city council unanimously approved Mesa PD's participation in the task force at its regular meeting.
Besides police-involved shootings, the task force's scope includes non-firearm force incidents that result in death or serious injury or high-profile incidents involving misconduct allegations — when requested by a chief of police.
Currently, Mesa and other departments self-investigate critical force incidents involving their own officers.
While the Maricopa County Attorney's Office reviews the criminal investigations of all police-involved critical incidents, backers of House Bill 2650 believed self-investigation opened the departments to charges of bias.
The 2022 law — introduced by then House Speaker Rep. Rusty Bowers (R-Mesa) — requires Arizona police departments to have outside agencies conduct officer-involved shooting investigations by June 2025.
Supporters like former Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone said in 2022 they hoped the change would instill greater public confidence in the integrity of use-of-force investigations.
Mesa Police Association President Glenn Pearson said the local police employee group participated in the development of the task force.
"The (Mesa Police Association) provided input and received regular updates from the executive staff throughout the process," Pearson wrote in a text message. "We are happy to see it go in place a year prior to it being legislatively mandated so any kinks can be worked out."
Injuries and deaths resulting from the use-of-force by law enforcement often spark strong emotions in the community.
Police-involved shootings can also expose the city to millions of dollars in liability as many use-of-force cases result in legal claims. Some claims in recent years have ended with substantial settlements.
In 2022, Mesa paid $13.4 million to settle 11 claims of excessive force and wrongful death. The tally included several high-profile cases, including an $8 million payment of the widow of Daniel Shaver, who was killed by a Mesa police officer in a hotel in 2016.
The shooter, Philip Brailsford, was later fired by Mesa PD and charged with murder. He was acquitted by a jury in 2017.
The new state law on police-involved shooting investigations gives police departments three options for the outside investigations: a new unit of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, another police department or a regional task force.
Assistant Chief Lee Rankin said in a council study session this month that Mesa PD chose the latter and formed the East Valley Critical Incident Response Team over 18 months of discussions with neighboring police forces, he said.
Rankin said that participants in the task force agreed to put the partnership into effect ahead of the state deadline in order to refine the system before the legal mandate.
Rankin said early talks included Phoenix PD, but it was determined that the volume of Phoenix's cases would be a "heavy lift" for the significantly smaller partners in the regional task force.
That leaves Mesa as the largest department in the East Valley investigative partnership. Rankin said a team of Mesa investigators will handle shooting incidents in partner cities, while teams composed of multiple neighboring departments will handle Mesa's cases.
Mesa's forensics lab will process all the materials for the new task force, he added.
Since 2017, the County Attorney has reviewed 58 officer-involved shooting cases involving Mesa PD, or about 8 per year, according to a list published on the county attorney's website.
The Maricopa County Attorney"s Office has charged two officers out of 386 cases submitted from all of Maricopa County since 2017.
Both of those cases involved Mesa PD.
In the first case, the county attorney charged Mesa police officer Nathan Chisler with aggravated assault for shooting a man in the buttock as police attempted to arrest him outside a Mesa sports bar in 2019.
Chisler was fired by the department. A superior court judge later dismissed the assault charges.
The other Mesa police-involved shooting resulting in charges involved officer Kaylon Hall, who fired two shots at a suspect's vehicle as it fled from a traffic stop in 2022.
The shots struck the bumper of the vehicle but did not injure anybody. Hall resigned from Mesa PD after a professional standards investigation recommended termination.
The County Attorney later charged him with two counts of endangerment. He accepted a plea deal reducing the charge to one count.