![]() ![]() In a letter dated December 7 from Journal Editor-In-Chief Matt Murray to Phoenix Police Department Interim Chief Michael Sullivan, the editor described the officer’s conduct as “offensive to civil liberties,” and demanded to know what steps the department will take to “ensure that neither Mr. But the local police department has thus far refrained from doing so. A representative for Chase told me Thursday that the bank did apologize to Rabouin over the incident. Ultimately, after about 15 minutes, when other officers showed up, Rabouin was allowed to walk free. The bystander who began recording the incident was also threatened with arrest. The video shows Rabouin repeatedly identified himself as a reporter for The Journal, but the officer did not appear to care. Rabouin said he volunteered to simply stop reporting from the scene, but video captured by a bystander shows the responding officer handcuff him, put him in the back of a police vehicle, and even threaten to shove him in if he did not comply. Rabouin said he was never asked to leave, but an officer soon arrived on the scene. Representatives from the bank approached him and asked what he was doing and Rabouin said he identified himself as a journalist. While visiting family in Arizona for the Thanksgiving holiday, Rabouin, who is Black, attempted to interview passersby on a sidewalk outside a Chase branch for an ongoing story about savings accounts, he told the Phoenix affiliate. In response, the Phoenix Police Department - which is being probed by the Department of Justice to determine whether its officers retaliate against people “for conduct protected by the First Amendment” - stressed to me that the incident occurred on private property, but that the department had nonetheless shared concerns raised by the paper with the Professional Standards Bureau andthat an investigation is underway.Īt the crux of this particular matter is a rather innocent act of journalism. Sign up here for the daily digest chronicling the evolving media landscape “No journalist should ever be detained simply for exercising their First Amendment rights,” The Journal said.Ī version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter. In a statement, The Journal said that it is “deeply concerned” with how its reporter was treated and has asked the Phoenix Police Department to conduct an investigation. The incident between The Journal reporter Dion Rabouin and the Phoenix officer occurred in late November, but just became public this week after ABC affiliate KNXV reported on the matter. Check back to Valley Fever later today for updates.The Wall Street Journal is demanding answers from the Phoenix Police Department after an officer detained and handcuffed one of its reporters outside a Chase Bank - an incident that press freedom advocates say raises First Amendment concerns and mirrors a larger, growing hostility from local law enforcement toward journalists across the country. The Phoenix Police Department plans to address the indictment at a press conference this afternoon. The to have a marked patrol car and two officers stationed in their Worst hit was Cotton Center Town Homes, which hired the officers to In total, the officers are believed to have swindled more than $16,000 from the businesses that hired them. Officer Steven Peck, and Officer Aaron Lentz. Officers named in the indictment, Sergeant Benjamin Sywarungsymun, The majority of the no-show shifts to himself and the three other The AG's Office alleges that between December 2007 through DecemberĢ009, Contreras falsified invoices and billed the businesses in advanceįor the security work - which was never performed.Īs the guy in charge of coordinating the off-duty work program, Contreras assigned Under Contreras' direction, the Precinct contracted with several businesses - including Cotton Center Townhomes, Laron Incorporated, Arizona Materials, and Eisenberg Properties - to have off-duty officers perform security at their properties.Ī lot of the work, the indictment claims, never happened even though the businesses had paid for the services. Actually doing the work was a different story.Īccording to the indictment, former Officer George Contreras - an 18-year veteran of the force - served as the South Mountain Precinct's off-duty work coordinator. ![]() The Attorney General's Office released the indictments to the media this morning - it seems the officers liked getting paid for performing off-duty security work. Three Phoenix police officers, and one former officer - all based out of the Phoenix Police Department's highly criticized South Mountain Precinct - have been indicted for stealing thousands of dollars from various businesses that partnered with the department.
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