The man in charge of Phoenix police oversight just threw cold water on the effort

Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of the column gave incorrect information about the position of attorney for the Office of Accountability and Transparency. That position remains open.

The resignation of Phoenix’s police oversight director this week is, on some level, a clash over communication and control disagreements.

But it sure isn’t playing out that way.

Phoenix officials realize as much.

Within 72 hours of Roger Smith’s announcement, the city obliged a public records request and released parts of his personnel file — how often does that happen while the person is still on the job? — to blunt Smith’s contention that city leadership interfered with his office’s independence.

That’s because the contention is one big cudgel.

Does Phoenix really want police oversight?

Smith’s resignation comes as Phoenix awaits the findings of the Department of Justice’s investigation of Phoenix Police over possible civil rights violations, including discriminatory practices against minorities and people who are homeless or have mental health conditions.

The Office of Accountability and Transparency that Smith oversees, even if its powers are limited, could help establish a level of credibility and trust for Phoenix Police critics.

Smith was hired in 2021 to lead the newly established office, charged with providing civilian oversight of the police department.

It had just been created in response to longstanding criticism by advocacy groups about Phoenix Police’s use of force and problematic interaction with communities in minority-dominated neighborhoods.

The same criticism that months later led the Justice Department to launch its investigation.

Smith’s accusation that city leadership sabotaged the hiring of OAT’s legal counsel — in his words, the “No. 2 position in that office” — plays into the narrative that Phoenix does not genuinely want independent police oversight.

No more, the implication goes, than it wants it from DOJ.

Smith's resignation raises suspicion

Smith’s personnel record, notably a performance improvement plan from early January, portrayed him as “tactless” and lacking in establishing plans and organizational savvy. To improve, Smith must aspire to “know what battles are worth fighting.”

He countered to me that some of those confrontational disagreements revolved around the office’s autonomy at producing its reviews of police incidents. Smith equated the city’s wanting to review those reports first with asserting an “editorial role of the content.”

He said it undermines the idea of independence.

Smith compared the protocol with his experience in Cleveland, where he held a similar role. “In Cleveland, they didn’t see the report before it went out.”

3 questions to decide: If feds take control of Phoenix PD

Adding to the drama is Phoenix’s rescission of a job offer to Catherine Bowman as the Office of Accountability and Transparency’s attorney.

Smith called into question the city’s disqualification of Bowman for the role on the basis that city code bans the police oversight office from hiring a person who was formerly employed by law enforcement.

Bowman told Arizona Republic reporters that the reasoning is “untenable” given that she worked with Tucson Police as a volunteer, not as a paid employee, and signaled that she intends to file a notice of claim, a precursor to a lawsuit.

How does Phoenix overcome this skepticism?

The Office of Accountability and Transparency has been rocky from the get-go.

The Phoenix City Council narrowly approved its creation and only because community-activist-turned-Councilman Carlos Garcia played a smart hand, forcing Mayor Kate Gallego to go along to establish a more robust version of the office with investigative and subpoena powers.

Gallego orchestrated Garcia’s ouster last year with support from police supporters.

Before work on the office could even began, the state Legislature defanged it. Lawmakers passed legislation requiring civilian review boards to be made up predominately of folks in law enforcement or who have extensive training.

Two years in, a staff of 11 has been hired at OAT, but members of its civilian review board have yet to be named. Its first report is just on the verge of being finalized and released.

Smith’s last day is Feb. 9.

His departure will only raise the skepticism of critics and of Phoenix’s capacity to welcome police oversight.

Reach Abe Kwok at akwok@azcentral.com. On X, formerly Twitter: @abekwok.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix police oversight director's resignation is a lose-lose