Tucson Police is considering taking on an investigation into potential criminal matters in Phoenix Police’s wrongful use of gang charges against people protesting police brutality last year.
Phoenix City Manager Ed Zuercher said the city asked four other Arizona law enforcement agencies to take up the investigation, but each turned them down for various reasons. Zuercher said Tucson initially agreed but is taking time to consider the investigation’s scope to see if the police department has the resources for it.
A report from an outside law firm hired by the city concluded gang-related charges should not have been brought against protesters and, more importantly, found Phoenix Police’s Gang Enforcement Unit was intentionally excluded from the case “to keep things quiet.”
