The crime rate in Phoenix has declined steadily since the 1990’s, although there has been a bit of an uptick in the past few years. The rate is more or less on a par with other cities and with the n...
Mesa Police Brutality Caught on Video . . . Again!
It’s been a stormy couple of months at the Mesa, Arizona Police Department. It wasn’t a single incident that is fueling concerns about the culture of the PD. Rather, there have been a series of be...
Flawed Forensic Science – Brought to you by the FBI
We’ve all seen trials, mostly on TV but some of us – trial attorneys in particular – have seen real criminal cases being tried in front of real juries. And in lots of those cases, the evidence p...
Arpaio’s Phoenix Posse Groups to be Reviewed
The “posse program” launched by former Sheriff Joe Arpaio is under investigation by Arpaio’s successor, Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone. Arpaio, convicted of criminal contempt for willful r...
Flagstaff Cop Punches Woman – Video Goes Viral
A woman who was not subject to arrest was punched in the face by a Flagstaff police officer. She was then arrested for resisting arrest. Sound strange? Here’s what happened. Officer Jeff Bonar says ...
Body Cam Policies Ignored by Phoenix Cops
You’ve heard about the use of body cams for police officers. The idea behind them is to give the public a better picture of what the police do through actual footage of stops, arrests and other poli...
Death Row Inmate Gets Another Chance . . . Maybe
An appeals court has directed that a man convicted of a 1990 sexual assault and murder receive a new hearing to determine whether police misconduct may have tainted the conviction. A number of argumen...
Preventing Officer-Involved Shootings in Phoenix
The issue of officer-involved shootings is in the forefront of the news in many cities these days, including Phoenix. Some say the statistics show that (a) our city has a relatively high per capita ra...
Days of testimony by Joe Arpaio in pending contempt of court case
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has been on the witness stand for days. He’s testifying in his contempt of court case. Arpaio, as well as five former or current aides, have been charged with vi...