Homeless in Arizona

I can guarantee that it won't be the usual case of where we investigate ourselves and find we did nothing wrong, like we always do. This time it will be different. Honest, swear to God.

Of course when we find we did nothing wrong, don't blame us. That's because the facts support it. Well, at least the facts as we see them.

Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell even promises a thorough and transparent investigation.

Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell said he expects that the shooting investigation will be thorough and transparent.

When every I post the article about Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell being accuses of rape I usually get a threatening insulting message from someone I suspect is a cop that works for Tempe Mark Mitchell at the Tempe Police Department. Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell is or used to be a Facebook friend of mine.

Under Arizona law it is considered murder for a cop to shoot somebody in the back to prevent them from escaping. Cops can only shoot people when the person is attempting to kill or hurt them.

This is another case of cops who conveniently turned off their body cameras before the shooting.

The officer was wearing a body camera during the shooting, but it was not turned on

Crooked cops are ALWAYS going to turn off their body cameras before they commit crimes. Hell, crooked cops are NEVER going to turn on their body cameras.

Source

Tempe police vow unbiased review of shooting as questions arise

Garrett Mitchell and Adrian Hedden, The Republic | azcentral.com 9:47 p.m. MST July 29, 2016

The Tempe police chief promised a "sound, unbiased factual investigation" of an officer's fatal shooting of a man in a chase after a drugstore robbery.

New details about the chase and the confrontation between a Tempe lieutenant and 19-year-old Dalvin Hollins emerged in a Friday news conference held by Tempe police. Two key points brought up by Tempe officers: Although Hollins simulated a weapon and told employees behind the pharmacy counter that he had a weapon, he was not armed. And Hollins was shot in the back of his body.

Chief Sylvia Moir said that she had called Hollins' mother, Sarah Coleman, to express her “profound sadness in the loss of her son” and to offer to meet with her to discuss what happened outside Westchester Senior Living, near Rural and Guadalupe roads, on Wednesday morning.

The news conference at a police precinct came hours after Coleman appeared at a news conference at Tempe City Hall to protest her son's death.

“It hurts that my son was taken like that. He didn’t deserve that,” Coleman said.

The Rev. Jarrett Maupin, who appeared with Coleman, asked for an outside investigation into Hollins' death.

Moir said she has reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice and regional partners for support in the investigation.

"While a finding like this causes all of us significant concern, we find we'll continue to pursue a sound, unbiased factual investigation," Moir said, adding that the department would continue to explore outside partnerships with agencies to "guarantee that our investigation is above reproach."

In a statement released Friday afternoon, Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell said he expects that the shooting investigation will be thorough and transparent.

"I have every confidence that the men and women of the Tempe Police Department will carry out their sworn duty to find and provide all the facts as thoroughly and quickly as possible," Mitchell said. "I look forward to regular updates to the public until the inquiry is completed. Investigations like this one will take time, but when all the facts are known, we as a city will act responsibly on the knowledge gathered.”

Lt. Mike Pooley, Tempe police spokesman, said the shot that killed Hollins was fired by Lt. Edward Ouimette, 52, an officer with 19 years of service at the Tempe Police Department. Ouimette was on leave from the department but had responded to the department's highest-priority "Priority 0" call after the drugstore robbery, Pooley said.

The three people behind the pharmacy counter had believed Hollins to have a weapon, as did Ouimette, Pooley said.

He said Ouimette saw Hollins run west alongside the senior-facility buildings and was paralleling Hollins. Ouimette, in an interview with Tempe police Friday morning, said he saw Hollins turn toward him and the officer perceived a threat, Pooley said. Ouimette fired one shot.

The bullet entered Hollins' body from the back, indicating that he had turned away from Ouimette in the time between the moment Ouimette felt threatened and when he fired the weapon, Pooley said. Time passed between the perception of the threat and the reaction to the threat, Pooley said.

Moir said, "The trajectory as reported by the medical examiner of the single gunshot wound was back left to front right, which is consistent with the initial report and is not uncommon."

Moir, who became chief of the department in March, promised an open, honest, transparent investigation.

"The events that bring us here test us as a community," she said.

"First, as I said when I spoke to Mr. Hollins’ mother, Sarah, I expressed to her my profound sadness of the loss of her son. I offered to meet with her and discuss everything we know. She said at that time she would consult the family and call me and let me know when it’s a good time for her. I honor her decision.

"I communicated with men and women of the Tempe Police Department and told them regardless of where the facts lead us we must remain unafraid to fulfill our daily duty to safeguard Tempe. The people of Tempe, whether they live here, do business here, have fun here, study here, whatever brings them to Tempe, they’re counting on us.

"We will learn from this tragedy, but we will learn humbly and we will admit where we stumbled. I'm committed to being the honest and open chief that Tempe and the profession of law enforcement deserve."

A robbery, a shot fired, a barricade situation

Police were called to a Walgreens at McClintock and Guadalupe roads shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday after receiving a report that the pharmacy was being robbed, Pooley said.

Video footage released Friday showed a man in a ski mask jumping over a pharmacy counter. He kept a hand in a black bag while demanding that pharmacy workers hand over liquid narcotics, Pooley said.

A worker who was behind the counter called 911 seconds after Hollins left the store. In the 911 call released Friday, the caller describes Hollins and tells the dispatcher that Hollins threatened the workers with deadly force.

"He said that he had a gun but he didn't show it to us," the caller said. "... He literally hopped the counter and came back here. And he had it right on me."

"We're fine; he's gone," the caller said.

The caller said that Hollins had knocked into him, possibly accidentally, as one of his hands remained inside a back pocket of what appeared to be a laptop bag, the caller said.

He told the 911 operator that he was unsure if Hollins had fled on foot or by car.

Police caught up with a man fitting the robber’s description carrying a black bag at the intersection where Hollins was dropped off. The man told the officer he did not want to talk and ran, Pooley said.

Ouimette said he saw the man running and followed him to the senior-care facility, where Pooley said Hollins did not follow officer commands and Ouimette fired one round at Hollins before Hollins fled into the maintenance room.

While entering the maintenance room, Hollins elbowed a worker in the back, Pooley said.

Pooley said a body camera Ouimette was wearing was not activated at the time of the shooting. It was activated several minutes afterward.

The Tempe SWAT team took about an hour to mobilize, Pooley said. The unit sent in a robot to check on Hollins. When he was found unresponsive, officers entered, and paramedics soon rendered aid, Pooley said.

Maupin, who has organized multiple protests and rallies in response to officer-involved shootings, said he believed Wednesday’s shooting to be racially motivated. Maupin demanded Tempe police call upon an outside agency to investigate the incident.

“Does race have something to do with it? Absolutely,” he said. “The mother and father say race had something to do with it. We say race had something to do with it. The track record of this police department says race had something to do with it.”

The officer was wearing a body camera during the shooting, but it was not turned on, police said. Maupin said the footage would have revealed that Hollins was running away at the time of the shooting and was hit in the back.

“The cameras need to be on throughout their shifts so we can get all of the story, not just half the story,” Maupin said. “(The officer) should not be carrying gun, or terrorizing the community. You don’t shoot someone who is running away. You don’t let someone die like an animal.”

Frederick Franklin, Hollins' stepfather, told The Republic on Thursday that Hollins was in the process of being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Something that morning “must have made him snap” before he robbed a store to obtain a drug for which he had a prescription, Franklin said.

He described his stepson as a “good kid” who was not understood in the state's mental-health system; Hollins fell through the cracks, Franklin said.

Sharrel Council, founder of non-profit Millennials: We are the Change, also spoke at the news conference. She said her generation needs to rise up and be heard politically in times of tragedy. She also said mental illness in African-Americans is often ignored during coverage of shootings.

“Mental-health issues are real in the black community, just as real as with white people,” she said. “Police and the media have no problem de-escalating a white mental patient, but when it comes to us, it’s taboo.”

Coleman still struggled with the fact that her son was gone.

"You hear about this all the time but I never knew it would be my son. I’ll never see him again,” she said.

The death of Hollins was one of three police-involved shootings that occurred in the Phoenix area Wednesday.

Dylan Liberti, 24, was shot and killed by officers after police said he brandished a knife in Scottsdale, and Andres Munoz, 33, was fired upon when he tried to flee the scene of a drug investigation at the Vee Quiva Casino in Laveen Village. Munoz was not injured in the incident.

Tempe City Councilman Mark Mitchell takes the 5th in rape case!!!! Now it's Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell who took the 5th in this rape case.

Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell accused of rape

Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell takes 5th in rape case

Source 2

Report: Mark Mitchell declines police queries on decades-old claim

by Dianna M. Náñez - May. 15, 2012 09:41 PM

The Republic | azcentral.com

In an interview with Phoenix police last week, Mark Mitchell declined to answer questions about decades-old sexual-abuse allegations but did give a statement denying them, according to a police report released Tuesday.

The report was released the same day voters went to the polls to elect Mitchell or opponent Michael Monti as Tempe's new mayor.

Mitchell, a three-term councilman and vice president of a Tempe flooring company, has spent the past week combating the allegations, which he has called false and a "vile" political ploy to destroy his reputation and cost him the election.

"I've been clear, I've done nothing wrong. Not now and not 30 years ago when I was a boy," he said in a statement and video to voters posted last weekend on his campaign website. "But I'm sending this because you deserve to know the truth from me personally. Just as Tempe deserves a race for mayor based not on personal attacks, but on the issues."

Monti, a longtime downtown Tempe restaurateur, also issued a statement last Thursday lashing out at Mitchell for tying him and his campaign to the allegations.

"I did not wish to comment on this, but I am forced to because Mr. Mitchell is actually trying to blame our issues-based campaign for this chain of events," he said. "Neither I nor anyone associated with my campaign had anything to do with the criminal investigation of Mr. Mitchell."

Earlier this month, police referred their investigation into the allegations to prosecutors with recommended felony charges, but said they made no arrest due to the length of time that has passed since the alleged offense, and the ages of those involved at the time.

Police tried for weeks to schedule an interview with Mitchell. Mitchell's attorneys ultimately scheduled the interview for last Monday after police informed them on April 30 that the case could be referred to prosecutors without his statement. Despite securing a date for the interview, police referred their findings absent Mitchell's statement to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, who has endorsed Monti, recused himself from the investigation and turned it over to Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk.

Yavapai officials said they expect to finish reviewing the investigation by June. Phoenix police have referred Mitchell's interview to Yavapai.

The allegations surfaced in February, one month before Tempe's March primary, from a 39-year-old Tempe woman whose name was redacted from the public record.

She told police the abuse occurred four times in 1983 when she was 10 and Mitchell was about 16. Mitchell, 42, would have been no older than 14 in 1983.

Investigators secretly recorded an April 5 conversation between the alleged victim and Mitchell. According to police reports, Mitchell apologized to her and said that they were young and experimenting and that he never meant to hurt her.