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Hearing on demoted Phoenix sergeant closed to public

Megan Cassidy, The Republic | azcentral.com 7:11 p.m. MST February 16, 2016

This week, a Phoenix police sergeant who was demoted to officer after fatally shooting a mentally ill woman will spend two days challenging his discipline to the city’s Civil Service Board.

By the end of Percy Dupra’s proceedings, the board could choose to uphold the demotion, to soften his punishment or to reverse it altogether.

The decision will be the city’s final word on Dupra’s discipline in the death of Michelle Cusseaux, whose 2014 killing sparked public outrage that included a march of Cusseaux’s casket through downtown Phoenix.

But the public may never know all the details behind the five-member board's ultimate decision.

Tuesday and Wednesday’s administrative hearings, which were to include evidence, witnesses and arguments from both Dupra’s attorneys and the city's to a Board hearing officer — were scheduled to be held behind closed doors. Tuesday's hearing was closed to the public.

The hearing officer’s follow-up meeting with the board, which will likely be scheduled for April, will be private as well. The board’s ultimate decision will be public, and the hearing officer's summary of recommendations becomes available once the board issues its decision.

Civil service boards and other merit systems are common in governmental positions and act as an independent body to review major discipline. Phoenix’s Civil Service Board is a panel of residents appointed by City Council, who review cases from all departments of the city.

Dupra's case dates to August 2014, when police were called to serve a court order at Cusseaux's apartment complex in Maryvale to transport her to an inpatient mental-health-care facility.

Dupra, a 20-year veteran of the Police Department, told investigators he shot Cusseaux, 50, after she opened the door with a claw hammer raised above her head. She suffered a single gunshot wound to the chest and was rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

A Phoenix police internal review board recommended a demotion, which was upheld by Phoenix police Chief Joe Yahner.

Dupra made use of a city charter rule that allows the employee in question to determine whether the proceedings would be shuttered to the public. A recording of this week's meeting will be made, and is considered public record, unless Dupra and his attorney ask that to be sealed as well.

Even for civil servants, internal disciplinary proceedings often are shielded from the public. But several high-profile police shootings of unarmed Black men have some questioning whether exceptions should be made in certain high-stakes cases.

“When it’s involving police officers using excessive force, that’s when the public’s need for transparency and accountability is greatest,” said Alessandra Soler, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona.

In the past year, the Civil Service Board has come under fire for decisions that critics say undermine the discipline of Phoenix police chiefs. In Phoenix and many cities, boards have the power to rehire police officers whose own employers have determined they are unfit for duty.

Such was the case of Kevin McGowan, a Phoenix officer whom the Board voted to reinstate four months after he was fired by Yahner. McGowan had made headlines after a violent arrest in which he was caught on surveillance video stomping on a prone suspect and knocking out three of his teeth.

McGowan’s hearing was not closed, however. McGowan’s attorney at the time argued that termination was excessive, saying his client only meant to push the suspect to the ground. The officer’s discipline was reduced to six weeks of unpaid suspension.

Only suspensions, demotions and dismissals are eligible for appeal. More often than not in recent years, the board has opted to modify an officer’s punishment.

In an analysis of the 34 appeals from 2013 and August 2015, the board reversed or otherwise altered 20 police chief decisions, including nine dismissals.

This trend, in part, inspired a blistering news conference delivered by former Phoenix police Chief Daniel Garcia — a speech that ultimately resulted in his own termination.

Dupra’s attorney declined to comment on Tuesday.

In an email, city spokeswoman Julie Watters said Phoenix’s Human Resources Department has been working with the board to “strengthen” the board’s rules.

“That process has been underway since last fall and is still ongoing,” she said.