The United States Supreme Court exposed the DOJ’s “historic” investigation on the Phoenix Police Department on Friday but we doubt anything will change with the accusations, innuendoes, and lies that were within the summary report.
Before we explain what the Supreme Court did, here is a quick reminder of what the DOJ said about the Phoenix Police Department in regard to dealing with criminal activity in their city.
“The practice of stopping, citing, and arresting unhoused people was so widespread that between 2016 and 2022, 37% of all PhxPD arrests were of people experiencing homelessness. Many of these stops, citations, and arrests were unconstitutional. A federal court order has been insufficient to change these entrenched policing practices. In 2022, a court ordered the City to stop enforcing certain laws against unhoused people, seizing their property without notice, and destroying property without an opportunity to collect it.”
Purposely, the DOJ left a previous lawsuit out of the summary by business owners that made the department enforce the laws involving the homeless. That lawsuit came because the department was not enforcing the laws and businesses were being destroyed because of it. The DOJ also failed to mention that the reason 37% of the arrests were of those “experiencing homelessness” is because 911 calls dealing with the homeless and the crimes being committed were one of the top calls for service during that time period.
But think about what the DOJ said here.
They praised and cited the lawsuit by the ACLU: “In 2022, a court ordered the City to stop enforcing certain laws.”
That should tell you all you need to know about the “historic” nature of the Phoenix Investigation.
SHAME ON THE PHOENIX POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR ENFORCING THE LAW WHEN CITIZENS DEMAND IT!
United States Supreme Court
It shouldn’t have been a surprise that on Friday, the Supreme Court supported the rights of a city and police department to enforce laws, even if those laws affect homeless people. Indeed, it seems that homelessness does not provide a defense for breaking the law.
The SCOTUS Blog stated: “The Supreme Court on Friday upheld ordinances in a southwest Oregon city that prohibit people who are homeless from using blankets, pillows, or cardboard boxes for protection from the elements while sleeping within the city limits. By a vote of 6-3, the justices agreed with the city, Grants Pass, that the ordinances simply bar camping on public property by everyone and do not violate the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.”
Just in case representatives from the DOJ read this, we will explain what this means. It means your summary report and your opinion is wrong.
It also means that a large portion of this so called “investigation” has been destroyed. When the city takes the DOJ to federal court to make them actually prove their allegations, this portion of the report will no longer need to be proven. The Supreme Court has decided.
With this foundation gone, the rest will easily follow.
While we may be years from a courtroom, the DOJ should issue a retraction and apology immediately.
