Phoenix plans to have a new police chief to replace the current interim chief by the end of August 2025.
City council members voted unanimously last week to grant a final one-year extension to Interim Police Chief Michael Sullivan’s contract. By the end of that extension — Aug. 31, 2025 — the city plans to have selected a new permanent chief to take over during a turbulent time for the department.
Sullivan took over in September 2022 to a department under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. That report came out last month with scathing findings against Phoenix Police with the DOJ claiming the department uses excessive force, discriminates against racial minorities, the homeless and the mentally disabled and violates residents’ rights of free speech and expression.
