MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media ​Contact:
Luke Black
480-323-0494

PHOENIX POLICE SETS RECORD FOR OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTINGS AT 25;
KILL 14 PEOPLE IN SIX MONTHS
PHOENIX - On the morning of June 12th, Phoenix Police Department (PPD) killed another Phoenix resident. This is the
14th person killed by PPD in 2018. In just six months the Phoenix Police have killed the same amount of people they
killed in 2017.
For the past year, Center for Neighborhood Leadership and partners have called for Phoenix City Council to implement
transparency and accountability within the department and take measures to stop the alarming amount of violence. The
leadership has constantly been silence or has denied the growing culture of violence.
On Wednesday, June 13th the Council’s Public Safety Sub-Committee will discuss emergency funding for a research
study of officer-involved shootings. The City Manager has called the “high number of officer-involved shootings a threat to
public safety.”
It is a disgrace that it took 14 lives lost for the Council to finally admit that there is a problem. They note:
The Phoenix Police Department (PPD) has an immediate and critical operational need to address the number of
OIS (officer involved shooting) incidents that have occurred since the beginning of the year. Between Jan. 1 and
May 29, 2018, there have been 23 OIS incidents in Phoenix….The PPD has already exceeded the annual OIS
incident totals for 2015 and 2017 in the first five months of the current year.
The PPD's top priority is ensuring the safety of both the community and our officers. An in-depth analysis of OIS
incidents in Phoenix will provide the Department with a deeper understanding of these events to gain a full picture
of each incident….This insight, coupled with the study recommendations will improve the chances of reducing the
frequency of these deadly force encounters.

This study will do nothing to end PPD violence now. Nor will it be binding when its findings are released in six months. We
call on Council to address PPD violence and PPD killings of residents now. This study will also not help the communities
traumatized by PPD violence. We call on Council to immediately implement a compensation fund. If Council can find an
emergency $149,000 for a study, they can find money for a compensation fund.

WHAT: ​Rally & Speak Out at City Council on PPD violence and PPD killings
WHEN: ​Wednesday, June 13, 2018, 9:00am-11:00am
WHERE: ​200 W. Washington St. Phoenix, AZ 85003
The Center for Neighborhood Leadership is a Phoenix-based nonprofit organization that provides leadership development to people most-impacted by
systemic injustice as they create systemic change through civic engagement, grassroots campaigns and policy advocacy.