Phoenix police chief suspended over dismissed protest cases
By JACQUES BILLEAUD
Associated Press
PHOENIX (AP) — Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams has been given a one-day suspension after lawyers hired by the city issued a report that heavily criticized her agency’s role in a now-discredited gang case filed against demonstrators at a protest against police brutality. The report says the decision to charge 15 protesters with assisting a street gang was made without seeking input from Phoenix police’s gang enforcement unit. The outside lawyers said the agency didn’t have credible evidence to support the claim that the protesters were members of an anti-police gang. The city is asking the Arizona Attorney General’s Office to investigate any criminal matters arising from the report.