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If you’re a long time reader you may be aware of the fact that I’m not overly fond of the Tempe Police Department.  To be clear I’m not talking about the other fine officers and departments throughout the greater Phoenix area or even the officers that work at the Station.  I’m talking about the City of Tempe Police officers specifically. In my 5 years of experience in the Tempe area I’ve been witness to gross abuses of power, a blatant lack of regard for citizens rights and their safety and a seemingly common place disregard for the difference between law abiding citizens and criminals.

I’m a model citizen.  I don’t even have so much as a speeding ticket on my record, I vote regularly, and actively work to improve my community. Yet, I’ve still almost been run down (while on the sidewalk) by police officers riding their horses leisurely down the Mill Avenue sidewalks, been threatened with tazering while making my way peacefully after a broken up salsa party, pulled over eroniously for “not pulling into the closest available lane” as a DUI check, and now nearly been pepper sprayed, run down by horse units, and bumped heavily by a panicked crowd of some 50-100 people caused by the Tempe police.

The officers of the Tempe Police Department seem to believe, that perhaps, because of Tempe’s large student population, the law doesn’t apply to them.  That they can bend the rules, sometimes even suspend them,  and intimidate the student population.  The sad thing is, that because most students are not aware of/completely comfortable in their understanding of their rights, they DO get away with their own version of the law.

The incident early Saturday morning (July 26th) is possibly one of the worst illustrations of this misconduct by mounted police and Tempe officers so far. It occurred at 2:00 AM as the bars closed down and hundreds of bar goers emptied onto Mill Avenue and prepared to make their way home. I’ve put together the following image using a Microsoft maps capture of Mill to help explain the situation:

There are 3 key locations.

• Location A is the Bar Rula Bula where 6 friends and I spent the evening.
• Location B is Cherry Night Club where the original incident apparently occurred.
• Location C is the rear patio and exit from Rula Bula.  Also, the site of a public fountain.
• The Blue lines depict the direction of the stampede/citizens were literally driven.
• The Red dot is the main entrance/exit to Rula Bula.
• The Red lines depict the area that the Tempe Police & mounted officers rapidly covered.
• The Green boxes depict the general locations of EMS services. I noted 1 ambulance and 1 firetruck.

My account from a first person perspective, and as a sober party (designated driver), was fact-checked with other sober members of my group.

As we left point A and exited out the red dot, everything seemed ok. The usual post bar close masses were assembled on the sidewalk immediately in front of the bar as they looked for cabs, collected all the wayward members of their respective groups, said their good nights and then prepared to disperse.  As I passed through the doorway I noticed that the crowd was significantly thicker than usual, and that there were several mounted officers, an ambulance, and a firetruck in front of Cherry (Point B) - a nightclub with a somewhat less reputable clientele. I saw nothing overly out of the ordinary, understand that fights are fairly common at Cherry and on Mill. The Mill avenue bar district usually has a police presence with at least 10-20 officers on patrol during Friday and Saturday nights.

Pressed forward by people exiting the bar behind me, and others corralled between what I quickly realized was a wall of Police to my left (by Cherry), and others on the street in front of me,  people panicked. There were at least 50 people in the small area, and realistically the number is probably closer to 100. The peaceful, milling crowd quickly turned into a stampede as people bolted and the police/mounted units drove their horses into the crowd shouting ”get back” and to “disperse” all the while using industrial-sized canisters of pepperspray on everyone within reach. In a matter of about 30 seconds the Police pushed forward from the first red line, in the direction indicated by the red arrow to the 2nd. Leaving them parallel to and in pepperspray range of Rula Bula’s (Point A’s) main door, which still had innocent bystanders exiting from it.

The stampede this caused was extremely dangerous as some 50-100 people were forced to literally run to avoid getting peppersprayed. The jostle of humanity left people running full force in the directions indicated by the blue lines to escape the pepper spray and police. Many of those panicked and running had been partially or directly peppersprayed. These weren’t dangerous individuals.  These were innocent, mostly peaceful bar goers.  I witnessed two 5′2 or so girls in high heels with faces full of pepperspray trying to get out of the police’s way.  Many of the individuals sprayed could easily have been designated drivers, now unable to drive.  The girls I was with, most of whom were under 5′5 were shoved, pushed, and nearly trampled in the rush.  As we moved to the car (parked near point C) there was a large gathering surrounding one of the outdoor, public fountains using the dirty water to try and wash their faces and eyes. I want to reiterate that many of these individuals were girls, not potential rioters or hooligans.

Beyond the lack of a need for the whole thing, what really disturbs me is the approach the Police used. It was impossible to be near the officers without being indiscriminately sprayed. Because of my height, and despite the pandemonium of the whole thing, I was able to see it a lot clearer than most and luckily get out of the way in time. From what I saw at least 10 - probably closer to 20 people were peppersprayed, most while trying to actively disperse/at a loss for what was going on.

Between the stampede their actions caused, the blatant abuse of innocents, and the potential harm of pepperspraying large numbers of possibly asthmatic individuals, the whole thing was not only a mess but profoundly damaging to the Tempe Police’s image and relationship with the average citizens involved. All of this could have easily been avoided if the police handled the situation in a halfway intelligent/respectful manner. Most of the incident could have been avoided completely if they’d just had everyone exit the bar through the back (Point C) entrance to Rula Bula.

This was riot-style treatment and in all probability nearly caused a riot. It put at least 50 people in direct danger most of who didn’t have even the potential of being a threat, and it did direct harm to at least a third of those individuals.

The police did the exact opposite of their duty.  They knowingly and intentionally endangered innocents while trampling their rights.  It’s not the first time, and sadly I fear it won’t be the last time.

If anyone thought to record video footage of the event please let me know.  I’d like a copy.

*Edit*

7/26/2008 1:00PM - I placed the following call into the Tempe Police Department and spoke with a very helpful officer in what was the epitome of how things should go *hat tip to her*.  I am currently waiting to be contacted by the head of the mounted division.  I will do what I can to record the call for the sake of accuracy and transparency. Also, please note that I removed my phone # from this call and some dead time while she changed headsets.

Listen to the call:

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7/26/2008 6:20PM - Received a call from the mounted supervisor.  He was involved in the incident but during the call was helpful/fairly candid.  I appreciate his prompt response to my call and taking the time to respond to my concerns. Hopefully we’ll see some changes this evening.  While the situation was obviously precarious I still don’t believe it was handled correctly and stand by the sentiments expressed during my conversation and in this post. Will summarize the call soon.