Surprise! The Biden administration’s DOJ apparently wanted to ‘frame a narrative’ on the Phoenix Police Department

Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

The law enforcement veteran discusses the damning report, and what could be learned from it as the Department of Justice moves forward for the better.

So…at what point did former President Joe Biden decide to give a cold shoulder to police officers?

Maybe it was the whole “defund the police” movement that got its start back in 2020, with so many Democrats pushing for ol’ Joe to side with them. Or maybe he just felt they weren’t doing his type of justice, like his Department of Justice and FBI agencies were doing at the time.

Whatever the case, following his leave from office (and, thankfully, Trump’s return), we’re starting to see the cracks of just how weak his level of justice was – and how much his Administration was on the attack for those that weren’t on board with his program.

Case in point – this report. The subject of an analysis conducted by Dr. Travis Yates and Dr. JC Chaix (back in late 2024), it notes how the U.S. Department of Justice, under Biden’s leadership at the time, were investigating the Phoenix Police Department. And why? Because of so many alleged incidents. Nearly 135, to be precise.

But get this. Out of those incidents, it appears that 97 percent of them were “factually inaccurate,” merely put in place to “use political pressure to frame a narrative.”

Because you know how Biden likes to be the focus of a story that makes him look good, right?

The report notes a “pattern of practice” of civil rights violations in the police department, forcing the city to work alongside the DOJ on a consent decree. However, this has become the subject of controversy, with both the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association and Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Thomas Galvin voicing disdain for the decree.

And rightfully so.

Yates knows a thing or two about law enforcement, having served as a Police Commander. He noted in his recent analysis, “The report read like all of them before. It was vague on details with an opinion-driven narrative, but it worked. Using the report as leverage, the media ramped up their coverage of the agency.”

Of course they did. It gave the media plenty of fresh blood to feast upon, while making the Biden Administration look like heroes, while they called out the poor men and women of this department who didn’t deserve such scrutiny.

Only four of the 134 incidents were actually legitimate, however. The rest were “either factually or contextually inaccurate,” with a heavy dose of “false reporting.”

The report actually goes into further detail about the incidents and the DoJ’s take on them. It concludes:

“After reviewing the related police reports and police body cam videos—and to the contrary of the descriptions and overall determination of the US DOJ report—we found the overall professionalism of the Phoenix Police Department to be inspiring and exemplary. Whereby the US DOJ report asserted wrongdoing, we observed Phoenix police officers showing compassion by waiting much longer than required to use force, if not exhausting all other means and attempts beforehand. We also observed officers placing themselves in greater danger than necessary to avoid using force. And in many incidents, we saw officers take action in ways that should serve as models for other law enforcement agencies.”

Exactly. These police officers found themselves under fire, but stood their legal ground and knew exactly where they stood. And despite the best efforts of Biden’s corrupt agency, they stood tall, just like any good police officers would. I’m quite proud of them.

And what’s more, it seems like the Justice Department is righting the wrongs, to a degree.

It recently made the call to end police reform agreements in select states and halt unfair investigations into certain departments. That’s not to say police reform as a whole will change (nor should it), but, thankfully, they’ll get away from whatever Biden’s team was doing with the agency.

It just frustrates me when a certain few believe that police officers are doing harm to this country, and will do anything to paint them negatively. When, in fact, they continue to be the backbone of this great nation, giving their all to protect the innocent and take care of each other.

You keep going, Phoenix. You’re making us proud.

Michael A. Letts, Founder, President, and CEO of In-Vest USA, a national grassroots non-profit organization that is helping hundreds of communities provide thousands of bullet-proof vests for their police forces through educational, public relations, sponsorship, and fundraising programs.

Latest posts by Michael Letts (see all)

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.