PHOENIX — Nobody likes criticism. But Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams vows she is ready to take any criticism that comes her way from an independent report being prepared by the National Police Foundation.
There is growing anticipation about the report on record-high police shootings in Phoenix in 2018. It was initially expected to be released at the end of this year. Chief Williams says it will be released January or February of next year.
Williams said the group has partnered with Arizona State University to analyze the unusual surge in officer-involved shootings this year.
The chief is pushing back on any notion that the foundation is not independent enough. She points to a recent report by the foundation critical of the Charlottesville Police Department in the wake of protests that turned deadly last year.
It heavily criticized the city for allowing the unrest and called the police department’s plan “flawed.”
“They wrote the study for Charlottesville, which was not complimentary whatsoever to the police department, and I’ll be honest with you. If there is something for us to learn, I’m certain the Police Foundation will let us know that,” Williams said.
Chief Williams says her department has not pinpointed any one factor to cause the uptick in shootings and maintains the department has not let its guard down in 2018.
“We have partnerships with the community. We’ve continued to hire during challenging times. Our training, de-escalation training, crisis intervention team training, tactical training – we just launched our officer shooting data portals,” Williams said.
The data portal gives the public a first-hand look at the details of officer-involved shootings.
Williams also says the department is working with the city to fund body cameras for all 1,200 officers. As of this writing, about 300 Phoenix police officers have body cameras.