PHOENIX — Editor's note: The above video aired during a previous broadcast.
The Office of Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said it will not investigate possible criminal conduct of the five Phoenix police officers who filed gang charges against Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020, a letter from the office says.
"Our office again has no jurisdiction to review the Phoenix process for filing gang charges or its process for leading to grand jury testimony for a gang-related indictment," the letter said.
The letter, sent to Phoenix City Manager Ed Zuercher on Aug. 13, recommended that the Department of Justice's current investigation into the Phoenix Police Department should run its course.
"It is our understanding that the Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the City of Phoenix and the Phoenix Police Department that will involve a review of what appears to be the same issues raised in your request to our office," the letter said.
The decline comes days after an independent review of the incident found that the Phoenix officers "ignored the obvious problems with the information it received" regarding the incident, according to the report, by the Phoenix law firm of Ballard Spahr.
Zuercher reached out to Brnovich's office after the report was released.
Multiple disciplinary actions resulted from the scathing investigation, including:
- Police Chief Jeri Williams was suspended for one day, in accordance with city policy.
- Three assistant chiefs have been reassigned.
- A police sergeant at the center of the report has been placed on administrative leave, pending criminal and administrative investigations.
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