Senate President Petersen Seeks Collaboration with Trump Administration to End Department of Justice Witch Hunt Against Phoenix Police Department

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                     

Monday, April 7, 2025

Senate President Petersen Seeks Collaboration with Trump Administration to End Department of Justice Witch Hunt Against Phoenix Police Department

PHOENIX, ARIZONA— Senate President Warren Petersen is working with the newly confirmed U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Harmeet Dhillon, to end the U.S. Department of Justice's effort to impose a destructive and costly consent decree on the Phoenix Police Department.

Following up on President Petersen's March 12 meeting with the Department of Justice (DOJ), President Petersen sent a letter today to Assistant Attorney General Dhillon regarding the Biden Administration's disturbingly biased and outright factually inaccurate report against the Phoenix Police Department. In the letter, President Petersen shines a light on misstated facts and law in the report by the DOJ to create a case of wrongdoing against Phoenix Police. He emphasizes how the Biden Administration did not disclose its "experts" or methodologies used when compiling the report, nor were its remedial measures linked to constitutional duties or standards.

"For years, the Phoenix Police Department has been crippled by a vindictive arm of the federal government, looking to find fault with the brave men and women who serve our communities to appease radical activists targeting law enforcement," said President Petersen. "Thankfully, the Trump Administration has already signaled its unwavering support for law enforcement, and I am heartened by Assistant Attorney General Dhillon's track record in these areas. I am hopeful that we can work together to end the witch hunt against the police department and release their officers to thoroughly protect our citizens from criminals seeking to cause harm."

In the letter, President Petersen expresses that consent decrees are nothing more than backhanded attempts to hijack police departments and bring them under the control of the federal government, adding that these court-ordered mandates are unconstitutional and exploited by overreaching presidential administrations. He offers his support to the Assistant Attorney General with creating a path forward for the Phoenix Police Department. Read the full letter here.

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For more information, contact:

Kim Quintero

Director of Communications | Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus

kquintero@azleg.gov