| NEWS | Top Cop At a tense moment for the department, Michael Sullivan takes over Phoenix police. BY KATYA SCHWENK lenges: turmoil in leadership, a looming federal investigation, and pressure to expedite reforms. Sullivan began September 12 after a A hiring process largely shrouded from public view. Two days later, he spoke briefly with media outlets for the first time inside the Phoenix Police Department headquarters downtown. He offered few specifics to Phoenix New Times about immediate changes he’s planning but said he’s been in “open conversations” with federal investigators and will be focusing on how to ensure compliance with results of the federal probe. The new chief, who has a decades-long career in law enforcement in the top ranks of agencies across the country, was clear about his priorities for his first weeks in office. “First and foremost, we’re here to prevent and reduce crime,” Sullivan said. “Violent crime is at a level that we need to immediately address.” Sullivan is taking over for former Chief Jeri Williams, who announced her retire- ment in May. Williams said she was leaving for personal reasons and to pursue new opportunities, but activists have loudly noted the political pressure she faced at the time. On September 12, Mass Liberation Arizona, a group that has been particularly dogged in criticizing Williams, celebrated her departure with a brass ensemble. Williams will remain at the department during Sullivan’s transition. A spokes- person told New Times that her last day was not yet set. Sullivan spent the last three years in Baltimore, where the police department is several years out of a U.S. Department of Justice probe similar to the ongoing one in Phoenix. That probe, Sullivan said, was “massive in scope,” and the consent decree had hundreds of mandates. After years, and millions of dollars, the city is still working on its compliance efforts. In Phoenix, the investigation is “much more narrow,” Sullivan remarked. He said he had no information on the timeline of the probe, which is hardly a surprise. Federal investigators and the city have not said when it will end. Matt Hennie Michael Sullivan met with local media outlets on September 14, just two days after taking the helm of the Phoenix Police Department. The DOJ probe is a civil investigation, searching for patterns of misconduct across the department. The original announce- ment, back in August 2021, said federal investigators would look into the depart- ment’s treatment of demonstrators, home- less people, and people with disabilities. The investigation’s full scope is still unclear. But over the last year it has included contacting the families of people who died at the hands of police and requested documents relating to the “ACAB gang” scandal, in which protesters were falsely charged with criminal gang activity. Asked about what he saw as the root causes of the problems in the Phoenix police department, Sullivan deflected. “The Department of Justice outlined the five areas of concern in their investiga- tion. In terms of the cause, I would say you’d have to go to them to get that answer,” he said. Once the DOJ releases its investigation, the probe will turn to getting the depart- ment into compliance. Typically, law enforcement agencies will enter into a consent decree with the Justice Department. Sullivan said he had a “three- legged” approach to ensuring effective compliance, which consists of the initial policy change, training, and then assessing the implementation. “When it came to training,” Sullivan said, he felt that “many departments around the country have not done a good job of that in the past,” undermining any policy change. It’s also important to evaluate if compliance was occurring, he added. “Having a system to measure compliance is critically s Michael Sullivan, the new Phoenix police chief, took charge of the agency last week, he faced immense chal- >> p 12 11 phoenixnewtimes.com | CONTENTS | FEEDBACK | OPINION | NEWS | FEATURE | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | PHOENIX NEW TIMES SEPT 22ND–SEPT 28TH, 2022