Groups clash over police response after Trump visit at Phoenix City Council session

Supporters of President Donald Trump and a band of migrant-rights activists spent 1½ hours condemning each other — and at times police officers and city officials — at a Phoenix City Council meeting Wednesday. 

The heated debate was prompted by a duo of citizen petitions related to Trump's August campaign rally at the Phoenix Convention Center. The petitions requested the city:

• Prohibit the use of city funds, buildings or staff (including police officers) at any future Trump event in Phoenix.
• Prohibit the use of non-lethal chemical weapons Oleoresin, Capsicum and Chloracetophenone at protests or large community events. 

The requests came on the heels of the Phoenix Police Department's release of an internal investigation that detailed the department's actions on Aug. 22.

Trump's appearance prompted several protests. Although they were largely peaceful, the night ended with Phoenix police deploying tear gas, pepper balls and foam projectiles.

A few dozen people from the Puente Movement showed up at Wednesday's council meeting to urge the passage of both petitions.

A similarly sized group from the Patriot Movement AZ — a self-described "boots-on-the-ground, pro-MAGA, America First, Build the Wall grassroots effort" — attended to counter the requests.

The council ultimately denied both petitions, but not before the two groups berated one another for their viewpoints and actions.

Cost of Trump visits

According to public records obtained by The Arizona Republic, Trump's visit cost the city $450,000 in overtime expenses. 

Viri Hernandez, executive director for the Arizona Center for Neighborhood Leadership, submitted the petition asking the council to bar funding and resources for any future Trump visit. 

Hernandez told the council there are "constantly conversations about there not being enough money to do things that citizens want," and questioned why the city thinks it's responsible for providing security for the president. 

"I would like to know where that is written, where that mandate is," she said. 

Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams said the city is obligated to assist the federal government in providing security for the president under the city's mutual aid policy.

Several members from Patriot Movement AZ lambasted their opponents for bringing the petition forward and said Phoenix would have a "black eye" if anything happened to the president while visiting. 

Adam Rocha said he didn't like former President Barack Obama, but never protested his visits or suggested the police not protect him.

"I cannot understand why we are talking about this," he said. 

The council voted unanimously to reject the citizen petition, though Councilman Michael Nowakowski suggested the city look into whether it can require politicians to reimburse the city for security expenses if their visit is campaign-related. 

"I spoke out strongly about how I felt about this particular president and many of his policies, but when it comes to public safety we have an obligation to provide public safety services to any dignitary visiting our community," Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said. 

Use of chemical weapons at protests

The petition related to police response at protests prompted more heated and emotional testimony from individuals on both sides of the discussion. 

The police department recommended the council deny the petition, which it did, unanimously. 

Williams told the council that if the department could not use chemical agents, like pepper balls, officers would be forced to use more physical options, like canines, during protests that got out of hand. 

A staff report prepared prior to the meeting said the police department responds to an average of 15 marches, protests or rallies per year but has only deployed "gas munitions" three times in the past 10 years. Those were at a 2010 National Socialist Movement march, a 2016 protest of police shootings of Black men (marchers attempted to block Interstate 10) and at the August Trump protest. 

Williams said the city has already made some changes following the August protest. Notably, the department purchased new gas masks for officers that will allow them to be heard better when providing warnings prior to deploying gas. 

Individuals who attended the August protests said they did not hear warnings before the first wave of gas was released. 

Manuel Saldana told the council he is a military veteran and believes the police department did not use "escalation of force."

"The only violence I saw was coming from the police," he said. 

Members from the patriot group blamed the protesters for the department's use of chemical agents.

"If you don't want to be sprayed with pepper spray you follow the law," Karen Wood said.  

Before voting to deny the petition, Stanton said the city's police department is excellent, but not perfect. He said it is, however, willing to learn from what occurred in August and is already acknowledging ways to respond better.

"We're going to learn this lesson and improve," he said.

'What's happening in this room is chaos, too'

The meeting quickly turned into a "them vs. us" brawl by both sides. 

Members of both camps talked over speakers, applauded and booed, used language aimed to offend the other side and sneered at comments they disagreed with.

Several people from Patriot Movement AZ used the term "illegal alien" to describe people living in the United States without legal status. One speaker who came to support the petitions referred to police officers as "dogs" and suggested the city control them. 

City staff and elected officials weren't spared from the vitriol. 

Several people in support of the petitions criticized Williams and her officers, along with the entire council.

A woman with the patriot group told Stanton he was giving more comment time to the "left" and called him "rude" for correcting another speaker who said the majority of Americans voted for Trump. (Trump won the electoral college but not the popular vote).

Nowakowski toward the end of the discussion said he attended protests earlier in the day and saw people being kind to one another and peaceably demonstrating ahead of Trump's visit. He said it's unclear who caused the night to unravel, but later on it turned into "chaos."

He said the police department should work with concerned community groups, but criticized the individuals calling police officers names.

He said as the chairman of the Public Safety and Veterans Subcommittee he'd like to orchestrate a meeting to work on the issues because, "What's happening in this room is chaos, too."

READ MORE:

Advocates use petitions to force Phoenix council votes on passion topics

President Trump's August rally cost Phoenix taxpayers more than $450,000