Police liaison quits following AG Mayes’ controversial interview on ICE
The police liaison for AG Kris Mayes has resigned following Mayes' comments on ICE and Arizona's Stand Your Ground law.
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PHOENIX — The police liaison for Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has resigned following Mayes’ comments last week regarding ICE operations and Arizona’s Stand Your Ground law.
David Harvey quit on Friday but Richie Taylor, Mayes’ spokesperson, has not confirmed whether Harvey’s resignation was directly due to the attorney general’s rhetoric on a 12News interview from Tuesday, according to azcentral.com’s Stacey Barchenger.
Taylor did say that Mayes “was articulating a very deep concern she has about the possibility for these situations to spin out of control and end in tragedy,” as Minneapolis has recently experienced a pair of deadly shootings involving federal agents.
Mayes has served as state attorney general since being elected in 2022.
What did Attorney General Kris Mayes say about ICE, Stand Your Ground law?
The controversy began when Mayes expressed concerns that confrontations between Arizona residents and ICE could turn deadly in an interview with 12News. She called the combination of armed residents who are empowered under the law to defend themselves and mask-wearing agents without uniforms “a recipe for disaster.”
Brahm Resnik, the journalist conducting the interview, asked her to clarify if she was “giving license to a person to shoot an officer.”
“Absolutely not. But how do you know they’re a peace officer? That’s the key,” Mayes said. “And so if there’s a situation where somebody pulls out their gun, because they know Arizona is a Stand Your Ground state, then it becomes, did they reasonably know that they were a peace officer? You know? I mean, this is a different set of circumstances in the state of Arizona.”
Mayes also vowed in the interview to prosecute any ICE agent who violates Arizona law, although federal immunity law makes that more complicated to bring to fruition.
Mayes talked further about the issue Thursday during an interview with KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Outspoken. She explained that under Arizona law, residents who reasonably believe their lives are in danger can use lethal force to protect themselves.
“If you are really sure that they are ICE and they present a badge or they present identification, then I would not recommend using lethal force against them. But one of the worries that I have is … that we have a Stand Your Ground law in Arizona,” she said.
Joe Clure, executive director of the Arizona Police Association, responded to the attorney general’s comments Friday on KTAR News, calling them “reckless” and “dangerous.”
“I was in complete shock when I heard the … highest law enforcement official in the state of Arizona essentially giving a tutorial on how to shoot a police officer, specifically ICE agents, and get away with it,” Clure said.
Clure also accused Mayes of misinterpreting Arizona’s Stand Your Ground law because it doesn’t allow for lethal force against law enforcement officers performing official duties.
KTAR News’ Kevin Stone contributed to this report.
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Comments
55 Comments
Grammar school response to pure proven facts. Your insight has plummeted tremendously since I last posted here. You seem to have Bidenitus. Sad thing to see, You used to be relatively logical.
"Ice murderer?" You just proved how demented you are. In front of the entire class.
Show me the evidence where a single ICE impersonator has done that. And how stupid are the allege victims that they think well paid Federal agents are shaking them down for $50.
That's a great rant too bad it doesn't have anything to do with what is happening now. It's sweet that you think this is just about illegals, it's not though. BTW, that president that you worship and defend, doesn't give a 💩 about you, America, or Americans. But that doesn't mean anything to you as long as gas is cheaper.
"I love the poorly educated." - DJT