Phoenix police caught rewarding officers with coin mocking injured anti-Trump protester
The Phoenix police chief was suspended for one day after officers circulated challenge coins that mocked an injured anti-Trump protester.
The coin featured a caricature of an incident in which Phoenix police officer Christopher Turiano struck Josh Cobin in the groin with a smoke canister during an August 2017 protest.
The front side of the coin depicts a caricature of Mr Cobin along with the phrase “Good Night Left N*t”, and on the back was written “Making America Great Again One N*t at a Time.”
A challenge coin is a small coin or medallion that have historically been handed out within some organisations, including US police departments and military units, to recognise achievements and improve morale.
City leaders took action after hiring Ballard Spahr, a national law firm based in Philadelphia, to investigate.
The law firm’s report confirmed the challenge coin was circulated through the Phoenix Police Department, but they did not discover who created it.
The investigation found that phrase “Good Night Left N*t” was similar to one used by Neo-Nazis, “Good Night Left Side”, but found no direct link to it.
The also found that hats, T-shirts and patches were also distributed, as well as dozens of the coins.
The report blamed the distribution of most of the coins on a Sgt Jantra Palmer and her husband, Detective Sam Palmer.
Investigators also stated that several members of the police department refused to be interviewed during the process.
Police chief Jeri Williams also received a letter of reprimand in addition to the suspension.
A second report into the department criticised it for an incident last October in which protesters who marched against police brutality were indicted on charges of assisting with a criminal street gang.
The charges were later dropped and the grand jury testimony of a Phoenix police sergeant and deputy with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office was described as “egregious” and “false.”
City Manager Ed Zuercher said that he was disturbed at the findings of both reports.
‘I was disappointed, but beyond disappointed, angry,” he said.
He said that a one-day suspension was appropriate for the police chief, who he acknowledged was never informed of the issues but had taken responsibility.
“I made the decisions on the discipline based on all the information I had and based on city policies, so I feel for the chief that discipline is appropriate,” he added.
“People can disagree with that and they often do. But what’s important to me is she has taken accountability.
“She has stepped up and accepted responsibility and she has accepted the task of fixing this and holding others accountable for where they failed her.”
And he said that the city would continue its own investigations into the issues.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego criticised the behavior of the police department in a statement.
“I’m disheartened and deeply disappointed by the findings of this investigation,” she said.
“The behavior described falls far below my expectations. More importantly, it fails to meet the expectations of our community.”
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