Tempe's turmoil continues as Wil Price, manager over several embattled units within the Tempe Police Department, announces his impending retirement amid ongoing controversy, set for April 19 after a stint that began in 2022, officials confirmed Wednesday. He originally joined the department in 1982, serving until 2003, and after a hiatus he returned to manage the Police Analytics Bureau, which includes the Forensic Services Unit and the Technical Services Unit, both riddled with problems as previously reported by ABC15.
It's in this backdrop that former officer Anthony Chiaro, with more than two decades under his belt and nearly ten years in the Technical Services Unit, lobbed allegations of retaliation following his whistleblowing complaints about the misuse of public funds and neglected high-tech police gear. Price, although not the manager at the time of the supposed infractions, found his name in Chiaro's Notice of Claim after Chiaro allegedly suffered backlash for exposing problems inside the technology department, a development also covered by ABC15.
The department, under Chief Kenneth McCoy, asserts its commitment to excellence and transformation, spotlighting initiatives to counteract street racing and reduce serious injuries from collisions, signaling the advent of a Real Time Operations Center in the near future. Nevertheless, the statement from Tempe officials sidesteps precise discussion about the controversy, instead sketching out broader strokes of departmental progress and potential interview topics down the line.
Chiaro's struggle, as chronicled by his attorney Joshua Black and echoed by another former employee who cast similar aspersions about the department's handling of technology and finances, reveals a narrative of systemic issues and ignored pleas for help; Chiaro's attempts to find resolve exacerbated his predicament, he faced accusations of creating a hostile environment which he saw as retaliatory measure for his whistleblowing efforts. Black, speaking on behalf of Chiaro, who refrained from public comment due to his experiences, articulated a pattern of unresolved conflicts, "There's been multiple whistleblower complaints filed against the city at this point, and it's done exactly what it's supposed to do, it’s brought this to the attention of the public," Black told ABC15.
Tempe Police Department, on its part, has not engaged directly with the specific allegations, instead highlighting Chiaro's extended absence and the initiation of an administrative investigation before his departure.
