New audit flags problems with Maricopa PD internal investigations

MARICOPA, AZ (CBS5) -

A just-released audit of the Maricopa Police Department showed 54 percent of citizens surveyed put the department's reputation at "poor to unsatisfactory."

"There was room for improvement here," said Brenda Fischer, who took over as city manager in May.

Fischer ordered the audit in response to complaints from citizens and employees. The review was conducted by Citygate Associates, LLC, and cost $42,000.

"We've struggled through some morale problems," said Fischer. "This audit allows us to be aligned and headed in the same direction."

She pledged accountability and transparency, starting with the audit that looked at nearly 200 internal affairs investigations over more than three years.

The review found employees had "little confidence" in internal affairs investigations, and many of the investigations dragged on too long.

Auditors recommended an independent third party review of these cases to "re-establish confidence."

Auditors also flagged an unusually high number of citizen complaints, writing that the department's been called the "last-chance department" for hiring officers with prior problems or credibility issues.

"I'm not a second-chance chief. I'm here because I feel that this city and police department has huge potential," said Chief Steve Stahl, of the Maricopa Police Department.

Stahl took over this week after serving as interim chief the past few months.

They are striving and starved to do good work. We need to give them a chance," said Stahl.

Stahl said he plans to change schedules soon to hold daily briefings with patrol officers to improve communication. Currently, officers work 12-hour shifts, three days a week – a schedule that does not allow for a briefing at the beginning of an officer's shift.

He also said he has an open-door policy, which he believes has made a difference already within the department.

As for the internal investigations, he said they don't know yet whether they'll take another look on their own or call in outside help to review the cases.

http://www.kpho.com/story/16937701/new-audit-flags-problems-with-maricopa-pd-internal-investigations?google_editors_picks=true

Phoenix police unit under scrutiny: Review of internal-affairs unit spurred by conduct and enforcement concerns

The Phoenix police officers whose job it is to investigate the actions of their colleagues will soon find themselves under scrutiny.

The city has hired a California firm to assess the Phoenix Police Department's Professional Standards Bureau, the internal-affairs section that reviews and investigates the conduct of the department's own.

The outside review grew out of requests by citizens, the Phoenix police union and police department managers and personnel for an outside appraisal of the procedures and methods used by the bureau.

Phoenix officials confirm that there has been dissatisfaction within department ranks about the bureau's ability to uphold department standards and to conduct investigations fairly. One lieutenant who worked in the bureau recently left his work there in disgust and accepted another assignment.

"Concerns about procedures and methods in the PSB were heard from citizens, police management, from union leaders and others," Phoenix Assistant City Manager Ed Zuercher said.

Zuercher said Matrix Consulting Group, based in Palo Alto, Calif., sent several employees to the department to interview present and past officers of the bureau, as well as others in the department.

Matrix will be paid $77,000 for the work, which is to be completed in 90 days.

Zuercher said the impetus for the assessment came from members of the Community Engagement and Outreach Task Force formed after Phoenix City Councilman Michael Johnson, an African-American and former police detective, was thrown to the ground by a Phoenix officer at a March 2010 house fire. The officer said Johnson had insisted on going dangerously close to the fire, while Johnson said the officer overreacted.

The Task Force sought ways to improve communication and relations between the police department and the residents of south Phoenix in particular. Zuercher said some people expressed concern about the effectiveness of the bureau in policing officers and enforcing proper conduct.

Police Department employees, some of command rank, also have suggested that standards of conduct within the department have eroded, and that lax enforcement by the bureau is partly to blame. Some Police Department employees also blame police-union pressure to lower standards of conduct.

Dave Kothe, a spokesman for the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, the police union, represents officers facing discipline after bureau investigations. He said "ninety percent of the trouble between PLEA and Police Department management is over internal investigations."

"Again and again we have seen inconsistency in how officer misconduct is treated," Kothe said. "If an officer is in trouble for not writing reports when he has gone on calls, then he should be treated the same as any other officers with similar infractions. That's not what we're seeing."

Grievous as some conduct may seem, Kothe said, similar penalties must apply. As an example, he cited a case last year in which an officer was accused of having intimate relations with women he came into contact with while on duty.

"A lot of people wanted to throw the book at him," Kothe said.

"But in the past when that same kind of conduct was investigated, we didn't fire people; we suspended them," Kothe said. "When they do something with an employee two years ago, they are required to do the same thing on similar misconduct two years later."

The bureau has 21 "sworn officer" personnel, Sgt. Trent Crump, a police spokesman, said.

"Their job is to conduct administrative investigations, including allegations of employee misconduct," Crump said. "They are supervised by an assistant chief, a commander and two lieutenants."

He said the bureau in 2010 conducted more than 200 investigations, including allegations of officer misconduct. It also investigates all officer-involved shootings.

Crump said the Matrix assessment will include"examining the operations of our PSB investigations."

"Matrix will compare current PSB operations with 'best practices' in other departments and they will identify opportunities for improvement," Crump said. "They will examine and evaluate PSB training for its investigators, and supervisory and command staff. They will also look at how cases are assigned, tracked and at the timeliness of case completion."

"There have been concerns related to the quality of PSB investigations, the length of time to do investigations and our ability to hold officers accountable for their actions," Acting Chief Joe Yahner said.

"And you have to hold officers accountable for their actions for there to be public trust in the department," he said. "That's why we welcomed this review and recommended to city management that they go ahead with it ... public trust is what it's all about."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2012/01/10/20120110phoenix-police-unit-under-scrutiny.html

Goodyear police spokesman put on paid administrative leave

The Goodyear Police Department's spokesman has been placed on paid administrative leave.

Interim Police Chief Bill Cusson confirmed Friday that John Rowan, a civilian employee who also is the assistant to the police chief, was placed on administrative leave Wednesday as the "result of an internal investigation."

Cusson would not say what allegations are being investigated. He said whether Rowan returns to work or is terminated "would depend on the outcome of the investigation at this point."

Rowan declined comment, citing city policy.

The move is the latest development in the inner turmoil that has plagued the Goodyear Police Department this year.

Rowan was reassigned last November and in January told city leaders he felt the move was retaliatory for sworn testimony in a federal lawsuit he gave the day before he was reassigned.

The lawsuit is related to the hit-and-run death of 18-year-old Jered Pendleton April 6, 2008, that involved a Goodyear officer. In his testimony, Rowan recounted a possibly incriminating conversation in Police Chief Mark Brown's office the day after the hit-and-run.

City Manager John Fischbach said at the time the reassignment was not retaliatory and was meant to preserve the integrity of an investigation spurred from Rowan's testimony. Rowan was moved back to his post in April after the investigation was completed.

That investigation turned out to be an independent inquiry into the department's handling of the Pendleton case, which concluded the department mishandled the investigation and officers protected one of their own.

Brown retired abruptly March 30 after the investigation was released, and Cmdr. Ralph McLaughlin, the department's second in command, resigned July 18 amid additional investigations into mismanagement and misconduct allegations.

A department-wide management audit released in August found several issues, including inadequate ethics and professional-conduct training, poor internal communication, and little accountability for professional standards.

Auditors made 31 recommendations, many of which Cusson already had addressed since taking over the department in April.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/11/18/20111118goodyear-police-spokesman-placed-paid-leave-brk.html