He was surprised to see a man’s head underneath the hat, and below that his body and the (h)orse that was still under him. Harrison used to tell his grandchildren a somewhat “tall tale” about how one day he was walking down the board covered walkway on a rainy day when he reached down to pick up a man’s Stetson hat. There were no paved streets in Phoenix back then and Harrison had to ride cautiously on the sometimes very muddy streets. Officer’s were walking, riding bicycles, or horse drawn carriages, Harrison patrolled the streets on his M&M belt driven cycle. Harrison lied about his age(,) saying he was 21 or at least everyone assumed he was 21, which was the minimum required age for a Police Officer back then. Harrison told her that he joined the Phoenix Police Department in 1911 when he was only 18 years old. In 1973 Harrison was 80 years old when he told his story to Arizona Republic reporter Melody Cornett. Williams (as) being the very first Phoenix Police Motorcycle Officer. While spending endless hours scanning photos last year at the Phoenix Police Museum I came across several 1973 photo’s of former Chief of Police Larry Wetzel recognizing Harrison M. I immediately began to gather background information and stories I have gathered from the ARPO (Association of Retired Phoenix Officers) web site, and even some old internet articles about Indian and Harley Davidson Police motorcycles, when I discovered a mystery that definitely needs solving. I was recently asked to write a story about Phoenix Police Motorcycle Officers. The department, which has a budget of $850m, has hundreds of vacancies.HISTORY OF PHOENIX POLICE MOTOR’S (Part One)

Police shootings hit record levels in 2018 in Phoenix, the country’s fifth biggest city, topping New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston. Of the country’s 10 largest forces, Phoenix police department ranks number one for use of deadly force, according to analysis by Mapping Police Violence. The medical examiner’s investigation is continuing. An internal critical incident inquiry is expected to provide video and audio footage of the fatal incident on 24 June. The police have said Blair was “showing signs of impairment” but did not respond to the Guardian’s questions about why he was handcuffed. Substance use played a role in 60% of last year’s record heat death toll.

According to local reports, Blair was rolling around the ground partially dressed after being asked to leave a convenience store where he had sought relief from the scorching 112F (44C) heat.Īccording to his family, who spoke to Phoenix New Times, Blair was addicted to fentanyl, the synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.

In one recent incident, Caleb Blair, a 19-year-old Black homeless man who was showing signs associated with heat stroke and possible intoxication, died in police custody on 10 June during the season’s first extreme heat wave. “We continue to prioritize and fund this department and then expect them to do things that they’re simply not trained for, and the results have unfortunately been loss of life.” “You’re not twiddling your thumbs, you’re doing really important work out there and it is fair that our compensation reflects what we are doing,” said Mayor Kate Gallego.Ĭouncilman Carlos Garcia, the lone vote against the pay hikes, said: “We’re embarrassed weekly on the nightly news, we pay out millions in lawsuits. It was approved by the Democratic led city council by eight votes to one. “There is such a crisis of poverty and unhoused people in the city, yet every year more money goes to a police department which is fundamentally corrupt, under investigation and which has shown no changes in the culture from when they arrested protesters on false charges,” said resident Christopher Martinez.īut city officials argued that the salary bumps, which range from 20 to 67%, will help recruit and retain officers to the beleaguered department and improve policing. The federal investigation was launched by attorney general Merrick Garland in August 2021 amid mounting evidence of disproportionate use of violence against people of color and rising rates of police shootings.