In Phoenix, a stark contrast unfolded last Saturday night at 23rd Avenue and Indian School Road when Erik Sanchez, founder of the nonprofit MASA Arizona, was allegedly assaulted while distributing food to the homeless. Sanchez says the altercation began after a couple expressed disdain for the unhoused., ABC15 reports. "If you really cared about these people, you would get them the [expletive] out of our [expletive] streets," the woman shouted, as per a video captured by Sanchez.
According to The State Press, the DOJ report suggests Phoenix PD's "force first" practices are rampant. Officers are seemingly taught to view all force, including deadly, as a means to pacify. Despite a stream of violent incidents detailed by the DOJ, there is a puzzling lack of awareness among Phoenix residents about the department's allegedly excessive and unconstitutional behavior or the full scope of the DOJ's findings, which remained obscure months after their release.
The same night that saw Sanchez's confrontation with the public over his goodwill, Phoenix officers were called in on an assault call at around 8:30 p.m., yet assailants remain at large, and no arrests have followed, as elucidated by ABC15. Sanchez himself recounted multiple such confrontations, including one where a firearm was pressed into his hip.
Instances of such unwarranted brutality include officers turning encounters fatal with disregard for constitutional rights. The State Press narrates how Phoenix has one of the highest rates of police-involved shootings in the country, without the backing of legitimate threats posed by suspects to justify lethal force. The case where a woman attempting suicide was shot 10 times reveals a grim picture of officers firing at individuals no longer a threat.
These documented cases of violence by the Phoenix police against the community only intensify the concern for the safety of volunteers like Sanchez and the people they aim to help. As he told ABC15, his continued dedication—despite the peril—is a matter of moral obligation: "We're not paid to defend these people. We're not paid to feed these people. We are defending them, feeding them, and helping them because that is the right thing to do."
