Andy Biggs thinks Arizona needs to take better care of state troopers

U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, the Republican nominee for Arizona governor, said the state should take better care of its troopers.

“You have to make sure that … you have enough money to pay them and make sure that they work in good environments, give them the right tools,” Biggs told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Monday.

Biggs noted that the state has to compete with local police and sheriff departments in recruiting.

Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers work out of more than 50 substations strategically dispersed to provide coverage across the state.

Many are repurposed trailer homes that are falling into disrepair, creating unsafe conditions for troopers and prisoners. In some DPS facilities, prisoners have to be chained to the wall because there are no holding cells.

Biggs said he encountered “horrible” conditions while visiting some of the buildings recently.

“I’m surprised there’s not been lawsuits from people who are arrested and held in those facilities. … What we have got to do is, you have to devote resources to it,” he said.

Biggs, a former state Senate president, also accused Gov. Katie Hobbs, his Democratic opponent in the November general election, of misusing funds allocated to public safety resources.

“When I was in the Senate presidency, we actually put together a law enforcement equipment fund, which she swept and raided,” he said.

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