Phoenix City Councilman Garcia says more eyes the better on police conduct

PHOENIX – The Phoenix councilman whose proposal to create a civilian review board to oversee police said Tuesday the investigative Professional Standards Bureau would stay in place as well.

“I’m absolutely not anti-cop – I’m anti-police brutality and anti-bad cop,” Carlos Garcia told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show.

“That’s what’s so great about this – PSB isn’t going anywhere,” he said.

The department’s officer accountability bureau looks into policies and citizen complaints against police.

“It could be perception, but the way people have seen it is police are policing themselves. They’re imagining a couple of friends hanging out in an office,” Garcia said.

“I know it’s not the way … but I think that’s the perception we have and we’ve also seen the results.”

Phoenix Law Enforcement Association President Michael London objected to Garcia’s comments.

“It is obvious how little he understands the existing processes within the Phoenix Police Department,” London said. “This comes as no surprise because Garcia is solely focused on promoting an anti-cop agenda based on zero facts.”

Now, there will also be a community review board and an Office of Accountability and Transparency.

The added layer will give Chief Jeri Williams more information, he said, “so she can make a better decision.”

Mayor Kate Gallego initially had supported a different proposal but pulled it right before the vote, although she said she had reservations about Garcia’s plan.

Garcia’s Model B passed a council vote, 5-4, on Feb. 25.

Recently, a former Valley police officer told KTAR News, “It would get real dangerous for law enforcement when you have civilians who do not understand the dynamics of force situations.”

Garcia disagreed with opponents of the plan.

“You can be trained, you can be taught to look at different things,” Garcia said.

Criteria for who would make up the community panel hasn’t been established yet.

Garcia would prefer people who understand civil or human rights law and who understands what a community has gone through after a “violent” police incident be on the board.

Selection would be an open process, he said.

“Ideally, each council office gets to appoint someone and then we get to add a couple more folks,” Garcia said.

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