**update (10/4/19): District Judge John J. Tuchi issued an order certifying two separate classes in Puente v. Phoenix. The group of plaintiffs in the lawsuit, including two community organizations and four individuals who were silenced, tear-gassed, and pepper-sprayed during the August 2017 protest in downtown Phoenix, has now been expanded to include possibly thousands of other individuals whose voices were violently suppressed by the illegal use of force by the Phoenix police. Click here for more information.
The ACLU of Arizona is interested in hearing from people who believe their civil liberties were violated on the night of August 22, 2017: https://action.aclu.org/secure/az-complaint-form?ms=web_160324_aff_AZ_
After uncovering a video clip showing a Phoenix police officer calling a pepper ball gun a “toy” and predicting the use of chemical agents on protesters, the ACLU of Arizona is asking for the public to help review hours of videos of the August 22, 2017, protest that took place while President Trump was speaking in Phoenix.
The protest ended abruptly when Phoenix police officers began using excessive force against the crowds. Many Arizonans went home from the protest with cuts, bruises, and other injuries because of police actions.
In response to an ACLU of Arizona lawsuit, the Phoenix Police Department released hundreds of videos of the protest from officers’ body cameras and surveillance cameras. The ACLU of Arizona is making the videos available for public review. The ACLU of Arizona will continue to update this page with links to additional videos as they become available and are uploaded to Dropbox:
- Videos released on Wednesday, Nov. 29 (only a portion of this batch of videos is currently available online; more will become available as they are uploaded): http://bit.ly/2zLRlrM
We invite the public to give the ACLU of Arizona feedback on what they see in the videos, including evidence of potential police misconduct. Feedback can be submitted here: https://action.aclu.org/secure/FeedbackPhoenixPDVideos
More information about the Phoenix protest of President Trump on August 22, 2017, is available here:
- Press release, "ACLU Reaction: Report Confirms Phoenix PD Failed to Warn Protesters Before Using Chemical Irritants," available at https://www.acluaz.org/en/press-releases/aclu-reaction-report-confirms-phoenix-pd-failed-warn-protesters-using-chemical
- Press release, "ACLU of Arizona Sues Phoenix Police Department for Failure to Release Records About Trump Protest," available at https://www.acluaz.org/en/press-releases/aclu-arizona-sues-phoenix-police-department-failure-release-records-about-trump.
- Press release, "Phoenix Police Failed to Protect First Amendment Rights of Protesters," available at https://www.acluaz.org/en/press-releases/police-failed-protect-first-amendment-rights-protesters.
The ACLU of Arizona is also continuing to collect personal videos and photos of possible police misconduct at the August 22, 2017, protest in Phoenix. These photos and videos can be submitted via Dropbox: http://bit.ly/2v6RtDV.
Questions can be directed to communications@acluaz.org.
