The only thing accurate in the recent article by Arizona Republic Reporter EJ Montini is how the article was labeled.
An Opinion.
The Republic certainly understands defamation law because that one word saved their lawyers from a ton of grief.
We could discuss a lot of aspects from Montini’s rant but the only thing we keep coming back to is SAD.
Montini has been a reporter since 1986 and he likely remembers the ethical standards he used to hold the profession and himself to.
While journalism is long dead in this country, they do hold the sacred duty in our democracy of truth, accountability and fairness. Without the journalism integrity that EJ was once a part of, we wouldn’t know about serious issues such as Watergate, Abu Ghraib, Iran-Contra and so many others.
Like the rest of his profession, EJ has sold out to the only narrative allowed in the media and any ounce of truth, investigation or actual effort has been thrown aside for a measly “opinion” article with a shock headline to draw clicks.
The mental leaps required to not laugh at EJ is astounding but we will play his game in an effort to bring a small sense of sanity in the crazy ideas of a washed up “journalist”.
“With no DOJ supervision, Phoenix police could run wild under Trump”
The idea that the DOJ can supervise local law enforcement is borderline insane. It may feel good to EJ to have the federal government running his local police department but as every city has found out, the only guarantee with the DOJ is higher crime, more violence, less police staffing and a blown up budget. Unlike what EJ said, that is not an opinion. We’ve written about this extensively, using the data from those cities and the idea that anything improves, including use of force, with the DOJ overlords is laughable. The DOJ can’t stop talking about their success in Albuquerque and even if you ignored their tanked staffing and record violence, take a look at their use of deadly force. What the DOJ claimed a decade ago they would fix, has made it worse. Indeed, the DOJ creates more violent criminals which in turn creates more violent encounters with not only citizens but law enforcement.
Maybe EJ conveniently missed that 14 of the top 20 most violent cities in America have “DOJ supervision” and that violence occurred after the supervision…not before.
“The scathing 126 page DOJ report outlining excessive force and other violations”
If you are going to give an opinion that deceives, you better scare people and that is certainly the idea here but we wonder if EJ has done anything more than read what his heroes have written. Yes, the DOJ report reads awful but it also reads like a 12 year old wrote it with so many flaws, conjectures and outright opinions that a freshman criminal justice student could expose.
In fact, the Phoenix Police Department is such a corrupt agency, they have done what no other department has ever done following a DOJ Investigation. They released all videos and reports on the incidents that the DOJ discusses for the public to view. The DOJ didn’t do this and their elementary summaries of incidents likely made it almost impossible to locate this information but Phoenix did it and what it reveals is more than scathing…it’s borderline criminal.
EJ didn’t have to do a lot of work here. The very department he calls “children” gave him all the facts he needed to actually do his job. Experts have even analyzed large sections of the DOJ report alongside the actual incidents but Ed has no interest in what reporters did in a time long ago.
The real story is one that EJ and his profession, that has sold their soul to power rather than hold power accountable, are the lies the DOJ told about the Phoenix Police Department while the city spent millions to help them tell the lies.
Just so we understand what EJ is saying.
He believes the DOJ can supervise the Phoenix Police Department, even though their own law enforcement agencies are busy pointing rifles and arresting innocent grandmothers in Phoenix and not releasing video footage for months.
He believes the DOJ can supervise the Phoenix Police Department, even though they are currently “supervising” Maricopa County but haven’t been to the county in years as the county suffers in low morale and staffing.
He believes the DOJ can supervise the Phoenix Police Department, even though every past supervision, in other cities, has been an abject disaster.
To be clear what EJ is saying here is that the DOJ will be more successful in supervising the Phoenix Police Department with $750 an hour Washington DC Lawyers that will not reside in Phoenix and he believes that because the DOJ issued a “scathing” report that can be totally debunked by anyone that simply watches the body camera footage of each incident that Phoenix released?
“There are still problems with the department”
To support using the DOJ based on a faulty and deceptive report, EJ says that problems persist within the Phoenix Police Department and that with the DOJ looming “you’d expect officers to be operating on their best behavior.”
Once again, EJ reveals that he never watched any video released from the Phoenix Police Department in response to the lies from the DOJ. While we hope an exhaustive report analyzing each case from actual experts rather than DOJ Lawyers will be forthcoming and the leadership of Phoenix owes this to the community, anyone can look at video after video that shows officers in highly stressful situations showing compassion, empathy and professionalism in situations where most would curl up and cry.
Policing is not always a feel good profession with the luxuries that Ed has enjoyed over the last 38 years of his air conditioned, not so fact checking life. Law enforcement deals with society and parts of society can be violent, extreme and divisive. Some see a uniform as their personal punching bag and despite meeting many on their worst day, many of the videos released by Phoenix show officers showing the utmost respect and dignity to those that certainly didn’t deserve it. Considering these were the incidents that the DOJ found to be a problem, can you imagine how good the Phoenix Police Department actually is?
EJ doesn’t care about this and he justifies his endorsement of the DOJ based on the recent incident involving Phoenix officers and “a Black, deaf man with cerebral palsy.”
Unlike EJ, there may be more to this story than a video and quotes from the individuals lawyer but EJ has no reason to wait for facts.
Controversy in law enforcement along with the Phoenix Police Department is nothing new. The agency responds to 2 million calls for service a year and they are tasked with bringing calm to chaos in situations where citizens like EJ can run away from. There are many advantages to lawyers, reporters and activists to use isolated incidents in their favor, even when it means demanding failed federal government intervention that will bring more violence and harm to the citizens of Phoenix and while EJ wants the city council to “be the adults in the room” we should discuss what adults should actually do.
In any controversy or perceived wrongdoing, a professional organization would investigate it and if there is wrongdoing they would hold those responsible, accountable. That is exactly what we saw in the incidents mentioned by the DOJ.
It would be easy for EJ to see the same thing as the Phoenix Police Department released every associated video, report and administrative investigation associated with each incident. These investigations were exhaustive and because of that fact finding, the vast majority found that the officers did nothing wrong. When wrongdoing was found, officers were disciplined up to termination.
This is exactly the pattern we see from the department in the case that EJ discusses. The officers involved have been placed on leave and a criminal / administrative investigation is underway. It may be foreign to EJ but the truth matters. The leadership in Phoenix can’t simply write an opinion piece and throw cops in jail. It must be investigated fully and facts discovered.
The truth is, none of this matters to EJ but this isn’t about what EJ Montini wants. It’s about what can best serve the citizens of Phoenix.
We believe that is truth, transparency, accountability and safety. The DOJ has shown none of that so unlike EJ, we have no interest in having the DOJ as an “uncle”.
No one likes the drunk uncle at Thanksgiving but you would never invite the lying uncle to your table that makes your family scared for their safety.
You can read additional articles here:
Researchers Expose The DOJ Investigation
The DOJ Turns Great Tactics Into Wrongdoing
DOJ Hoax Revealed In Incident #1
The DOJ Report is Filled With Lies
If The DOJ Report Is A Lie, Their Recommendations Are As Well
