Phoenix Police Department

Phoenix was incorporated as a city on February 5, 1881. Law enforcement was handled by Phoenix city marshals and later by Phoenix police officers. Henry Garfias, the first city marshal, was elected by residents in 1881 in the first elections of the newly incorporated city. For six years, he served as the primary law enforcement officer.

In the early 1900s, the Phoenix Police Department used Old Nelly, the horse, to pull the patrol wagon for officers. Most patrolling, however, was done on foot. The city at this time was only 3.1 square miles (8.0 km²) with a population of 11,134 people. Call boxes were used to notify an officer that headquarters wanted him. These were supplemented by a system of horns and flashing lights.

The first death of a Phoenix police officer in the line of duty in Phoenix occurred on February 5, 1925.[4] Officer Haze Burch was shot and killed by two brothers on the run from authorities. The men were later arrested when they were found hiding at the Tempe Buttes.[4]

In 1929, patrolmen worked six days a week and were paid $100 a month. The police department moved into the west section of the new city-county building at 17 South 2nd Avenue.[5] The building included jail cells on the top two floors. In 1933, Ruth Meicher joined the police department as the first female jail matron. The city at this time was only 6.4 square miles (17 km²), with a population of 48,200. In the year prior, the first police radio system in Arizona was installed for the department with the call letters KGZJ.[5]

The department reorganized in 1950 with four divisions, Traffic, Detectives, Patrol and Service Divisions.[5] Officers worked 44 hours per week for $288 per month. In 1974, the Air patrol unit was established initially consisting of one helicopter. A few months later, a fixed wing aircraft and two additional helicopters were added.[5]

In 2008, the department formed the Block Watch program, which is a partnership between citizens and the police department to help deter youth from crime. The department also runs a similar program under the name G.A.I.N. which stands for Getting Arizona Involved in Neighborhoods.[6]

Phoenix police officers shot at least 41 people in 2018, the highest number in the department's history and the highest number of any U.S. city that year, killing at least 19 people. Of those shot, demographically, Native Americans were the most over-represented group for their population size, while Hispanics—who comprise 43 percent of the city's population—were shot most often overall.[7][8][9]

As of 2020, Phoenix has one of the highest rates of police killings in the United States.[10] Civil rights leaders and community activists have argued that the city's police officers are rarely held accountable for escalating encounters, attacks on residents, using lethal force without considering other options, and making false statements.[10][11]

The Phoenix Police Department is divided into six divisions: Community and Support Services, Investigations, Management Services, Patrol, Reserve, Strategic and Tactical Services.[12]

Title	Insignia
Chief of Police
Executive Assistant Chief
Assistant Chief
Commander
Lieutenant
Sergeant
Police Officer

The position of Executive Assistant Chief is considered second-in-command of the Department. The collar rank insignia is indistinguishable from other Assistant Chiefs. However, the title "Executive Assistant Chief" is inscribed in the title scroll on the top of the breast badge to indicate the position.

After ten years in the rank of Sergeant, employees are authorized to add one rocker to the bottom of the sergeant stripes. After fifteen years in rank, two rockers are authorized and after twenty years in the rank of sergeant, three rockers are authorized to be added to the sergeant stripes. There is no associated elevation in actual rank, and no additional pay, as these extra rockers are optional and only meant to distinguish time in the grade and are not a promotion.

The Phoenix Police Department also uses shoulder patches to denote the positions of Sergeant-in-Training and Field Training Officer, although these are not official supervisory ranks.

Title	Insignia
Sergeant-in-Training
Field Training Officer

• On March 13, 1963, Phoenix Police Officers Carroll Cooley and Wilfred Young arrested Ernesto Miranda for kidnapping, rape, and armed robbery. The department got a written confession by Miranda, after interrogation, without informing him of his rights. This led to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona.
• On October 5, 2010, Phoenix Police Officer Richard Chrisman, responding to a domestic disturbance call, entered a mobile home and killed an unarmed man during a confrontation. Chrisman was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to prison.[16]
• In August 2011, Officer Jeffrey Gordon was suspended from his job for four days for touching a female city worker inappropriately. The incident received attention in the press as the policeman was the son of Mayor Phil Gordon.[17]
• In September 2011, Officer Jason A. Brooks beat a handcuffed suspect. He resigned from the department and in July 2012 pleaded guilty to a single charge of disorderly conduct and was sentenced to a day on parole.[18]
• In July 2012, press reports indicated that Sergeant Arnold Davis was caught on a video camera stealing thousands of dollars from a business while he was there on official business. Davis, represented by a lawyer from the Phoenix Police Sergeants and Lieutenants Association began negotiating an early retirement to avoid criminal charges.[19]
• In August, 2012, Detective Christopher J. Wilson resigned from the department when he was accused of ten counts of sex with underaged boys. Wilson pleaded not guilty to the charges.[20]
• In December 2012, Detective George Contreras pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge that he made false reports concerning after-hours security he work for which he was paid, but that he never performed. He was ordered to pay over $6,000 to groups he had defrauded. Contreras resigned from the department before his court appearance.[21]

• On 21 October 2020, Officer Steven Poulos told fellow officers at a roll call that he intended to kill Mayor Kate Gallego if she reduced the department's budget. He was placed on administrative leave.[22]

• List of law enforcement agencies in Arizona
• Maricopa County Sheriff's Office
• Phoenix Police Museum

• Phoenix Police Department website
• Phoenix Police Museum
• Phoenix Block Watch Advisory Board