A National Misconduct Registry will provide Chiefs with additional information during the hiring and vetting process and serve as a mechanism to help prevent law enforcement officers with histories of misconduct from moving between departments. Law enforcement agencies must also foster a culture of information sharing and be forthcoming when other agencies call to perform a reference check on a current or former officer.

The Mesa Police Department supports a National Misconduct Registry with the following elements:

• Includes only sustained complaints and terminations - a registry that includes non-sustained or exonerated complaints will result in the inclusion of officers who are doing their jobs properly.
• Includes complaints and terminations that have undergone all applicable appeals and grievance processes, unless the officer in question resigns before the process is complete.
• Includes officers who resigned while under investigation for misconduct or have charges pending.
• Is structured in a way that protects sensitive information like addresses and phone numbers.
• Has clear policies and definitions for the types of misconduct that should be captured by the database and how long data should be retained.
• Contains robust oversight and audit procedures.

Qualified immunity protections are extended to a wide range of government employees, not just law enforcement. Qualified immunity does not prevent officers who engage in misconduct from being convicted for criminal offenses.

The Mesa Police Department strongly opposes repealing or amending the qualified immunity statute.

Police departments across our Nation must have policies in place to ensure officers use the minimal amount of force reasonably necessary in response to the resistance of a subject. Agencies small and large must be required to have written Use of Force/Response to Resistance Policies and these policies should be readily available to the public.

The Mesa Police Department recommends a ban on all chokeholds and believes the carotid technique is valuable when an officer is in a fight for his or her life.

Robust data collection and analysis can help inform decision making, identify problems, promote transparency, and build public trust and confidence. When levying data collection and reporting requirements on local law enforcement, the federal government must ensure that the data is necessary, appropriate, and does not infringe on civil and privacy rights. Law enforcement must also be able to report this data easily and efficiently through systems and channels that are already in use or funding must be made available to cover associated expenses -- these requirements cannot become unfunded mandates.

The Mesa Police Department opposes requiring that data be reported by demographic categories such as religion, disability, English language proficiency, and housing status. Chiefs have expressed concerns that these are not appropriate questions for officers to be asking the members of the public they interact with and doing so may open up law enforcement to lawsuits and harm public trust. We recommend that all new data reporting requirements be supported through existing databases and systems. In the absence of this, the federal government must provide local law enforcement with additional funding to cover the cost of developing and implementing the systems needed to comply with new requirements. The Mesa Police Department recommends the use of a reporting mechanism that does not require local law enforcement to procure new technology or systems.

There is broad consensus among law enforcement that additional training is needed to address systemic issues the profession is grappling with. The Mesa Police Department has already implemented on-going de-escalation, implicit bias, procedural justice, and other critical training.

The Mesa Police Department supports the development and implementation of additional training requirements on issues such as implicit bias, racial, religious, and cultural sensitivity, and procedural justice.

The 1033 Program is facilitated by the Defense Logistics Agency. The program transfers excess military equipment to civilian law enforcement agencies. The 1033 Program is of great value to the Mesa Police Department and greatly enhances our ability to keep our community safe. The 1033 Program enables the Mesa Police Department to obtain the support that is otherwise cost-prohibitive. Additionally, the increase in the use of heavy weaponry by active shooters and violent criminals highlights the importance and ongoing need for the program. The equipment is not the problem -- oversight and accountability are.

The Mesa Police Department is a national role model for oversight and accountability. We support the implementation of additional accountability measures to ensure all 1033 Program equipment is accounted for, is being used appropriately, and in a way that maintains public confidence. The Mesa Police Department strongly opposes the elimination of the 1033 Program.

The Mesa Police Department has already restricted its use and has implemented strict oversight and approval procedures. For most narcotics cases, the risks associated with no-knock warrants simply aren’t worth the potential benefits. No-knock warrants should be restricted to situations like hostage rescue and violent crimes.

The Mesa Police Department does not use and supports a ban on the use of no-knock warrants for narcotics cases.

To help maintain the trust of the community, it is important that allegations of misconduct are thoroughly and fairly investigated. In cases where misconduct occurs, discipline must be as swift as possible. Proposed reforms would give the state attorney general or criminal justice agency the authority to conduct these investigations. These entities frequently have less stringent use of force policies and allow tactics that have been banned by local law enforcement agencies.

In late 2020, after conducting extensive research into local, regional and national best practices, the Mesa Police Department implemented a comprehensive disciplinary policy revision. Highlights of the policy provide for concise “streamlined” disciplinary process, establishment of drastically shorter investigative timelines, establishment of a tiered disciplinary guide for consistency in application of discipline, implementation of technological improvements into a “paperless process,” policy revisions that simplify the disciplinary process, retention of disciplinary records in cases of sustained misconduct, and empowering first and second level supervisors to adjudicate low-level discipline.

The Mesa Police Department supports the intent of independent investigations and believes they are appropriate in certain circumstances; however, no law should require them or otherwise infringe on the Chief’s ability to conduct investigations within their own department. Each complaint lodged by a member of the public should require a closing letter to the complainant stating investigative findings.

We must ensure officers who engage in misconduct are held accountable, even in instances where the misconduct comes to light at a later date. In some jurisdictions the statute of limitations for misconduct tolls from the date the misconduct occurred, not the date of discovery. Since Chiefs only have a limited timeframe to conduct these investigations, usually between 90-180 days, having the clock start on the date of occurrence presents a challenge, especially when the misconduct is not criminal.

The Mesa Police Department believes the window for investigating misconduct should start on the date of discovery of the incident not when the incident occurred. Labor agreements, agency policies, as well as applicable local, state, and federal laws should be updated accordingly.

The Mesa Police Department has deployed on-officer body cameras for about a decade, starting with 50 cameras in 2012. After the initial deployment, the on-officer body camera allotment grew to 350 and then to 458 systems. Initially, the primary deployment was with officers in the Patrol and Traffic bureaus.

In 2021, our on-officer body camera allotment increased to 669 camera systems. On-officer body cameras are now deployed to many frontline positions within the Department. This increase has allowed the deployment of these systems to include officers and detectives assigned to SWAT, Canine (K9), Street Crimes Units, Gang Enforcement, School Resource Officers, the Mental Health Support Team, Airport (PMGA), Task Force assignments, Police Service Officers, the Bicycle unit, and a small amount within the Criminal Investigation Units. Additionally, Patrol Sergeants and Patrol Lieutenants received on-officer body cameras in 2022.

On-officer body cameras are a staple of modern policing. The Mesa Police Department was an early adopter and utilizes this technology to increase our efficiency and effectiveness. On-officer body camera recordings assist in the prosecution of those victimizing others within our community and provides transparency with internal and external reviews of complaints, concerns, and commendations.

The recordings created are in a common digital format and in partnership with other agencies and prosecutorial entities. This common format allows us to quickly provide evidence electronically, saving both time and resources. Currently we have over 2 million digital evidence files occupying 517TB in our evidence management system.

This technology continues to evolve with new features and as it does the Mesa Police Department continues to evaluate any applicable technology for possible implementation. We are in frequent discussion with our current vendor to ensure we have the best product with simple parameters for our end-users. Also, we are frequently contacted by agencies across the United States for assistance/guidance with implementation of on-officer body cameras in those jurisdictions.

In April 2022 the MPD became the largest Department, at that time, in Arizona to receive Accreditation by the Arizona Law Enforcement Accreditation Program (ALEAP) which is sponsored by Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police (AACOP). Accreditation ensures compliance with established standards and a clear statement of professional objectives which represent current and professional industry-best-practices in the safe, effective, efficient, and non-discriminatory delivery of law enforcement services in the State of Arizona.

Benefits of Accreditation include:

• Recognition for our Department that we aligned with the best practices in policing.
• Advance relations and trust within our Community by demonstrating our commitment to continuous improvement.
• Strengthen knowledge of our policies, procedures, training, and operations.
• Decrease litigation and exposure for our Department.
• Increase eligibility for Federal grants and funding opportunities.