Phoenix to DOJ: Police oversight director was disgruntled and overstepped his role

Phoenix leaders launched a preemptive strike after the sudden resignation of the man charged with monitoring the police department when they told the U.S. Department of Justice he was a disgruntled employee who tried to overstep his boundaries.

Michael Bromwich, a contract attorney who has emerged as the city's point person in a high-stakes effort to hold Justice Department monitors at bay, wrote in a letter to the department Tuesday that Roger Smith grew frustrated with his position. That frustration started after the state Legislature passed a law restricting his powers so he could merely monitor, rather than investigate, police misconduct cases, Bromwich wrote.

"Rather than exercise those substantial powers, Mr. Smith chafed against the restrictions and attempted to extend his mandate beyond any reasonable definitions of monitoring and analysis," Bromwich wrote.

Bromwich's letter added that city officials "have always" wanted OAT to exist independently from the police department but that the City Council could not control, nor violate, state law. City officials would "promptly" rehire a replacement who is "committed to its important mission," Bromwich wrote.

Smith, the director of the Phoenix Office of Accountability and Transparency, said he was not told about the letter and sees it as a baseless attempt to discredit him. He announced late last month he was stepping down, claiming the city undermined his efforts. His last day on the job will be Friday.

Smith challenged the city's depiction and said he always believed OAT had valuable authority unaffected by the state's restrictions.

"I extend an invitation to them to defend, in front of the community, the claims that they're making right now," Smith said. "No need for behind-the-scenes letters to the Department of Justice. You think you have the merits? Let's get this conversation in front of the public. That's true accountability. That's true transparency. Let's do it."

He's not "frustrated" that state legislation made OAT a monitoring office rather than an investigative one, he said. "There's a lot of things valuable to this city's conversation that could happen aside from investigating," he said.

He said he didn't resign because of what happened in the Legislature more than a year ago.

Instead, Smith's own resignation letter tells a different story: He left because his office did not have the "independence required to effectively perform its responsibilities."

"It's extraordinary that they would make these baseless claims," Smith said. "They have the goal of attempting to somehow undermine my credibility, and they're not just failing at that, but they're also exposing their own ulterior motives, and the levels of their own defensiveness on this subject."

Why Phoenix sent the letter to the Justice Department

Phoenix's letter to the Justice Department demonstrates how city officials are attempting to get ahead of controversies surrounding the police department.

"Please let us know if this episode raises any questions in your mind about the future of OAT and the city’s commitment to it," Bromwich wrote at the end of the letter.

Smith's resignation, and the controversy surrounding it, came as the city went on the offensive with community meetings, letters and statements to journalists critical of the way the Justice Department was handling a sweeping two-and-a-half-year civil rights investigation into the Phoenix Police Department.

The Justice Department launched its pattern-or-practice investigation into Phoenix police in August 2021. Investigators are looking into Phoenix police's use of force, protesters' rights, discriminatory policing, police interactions with individuals with disabilities or mental health issues, and the potential unlawful confiscation of property from homeless people.

The federal inquiry came after years of controversies rocked the department.

In 2018, Phoenix police shot at more people than any other city police department. In 2019, an Arizona Republic investigation found officers used force five times as often against Black and Native residents of the city. In 2020, Phoenix police falsely claimed 15 protesters were working together as a gang and colluded with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office to charge the individuals. Phoenix police were also caught circulating a challenge coin mocking an injured protester with a phrase some have linked to hate speech in 2020.

City officials contend a reform agreement without federal oversight would be the best approach after Justice Department report is released.

A performance improvement plan for Smith

In a letter sent to City Manager Jeff Barton Jan. 29, Smith said interference from the City Attorney's Office and that the city placed him on a performance improvement plan after a hiring dispute also contributed to his decision to leave.

The improvement plan was given to Smith four days after a woman he was barred from hiring, Catherine Bowman, wrote a letter to Mayor Kate Gallego and the City Council.

Smith sought to hire Bowman as OAT's attorney, but his supervisor, Deputy City Manager Ginger Spencer, rescinded the offer. City codes bar hiring anyone previously employed by law enforcement to the police oversight office, and Spencer said Bowman's history as a volunteer police officer rendered her ineligible.

Smith stood by his proposed hire, saying city officials had ample opportunities to review her qualifications before and during the hiring process but never made a peep until a start date was discussed.

Inside story: New documents reveal how Phoenix's police watchdog office unraveled

Bowman accused the city in her letter to the City Council of rescinding her job offer based on shaky legal grounds, "depriving" Smith of a hire he had the right to make and blurring the lines of independence between the city attorney and the police oversight office.

City spokesperson Dan Wilson said Smith's improvement plan had nothing to do with Bowman's letter, and that the plan had been weeks, if not months, in the making.

Bromwich dug in on this stance in his letter to the DOJ and added that city leaders repeatedly discussed Smith's performance but "seemed to have no effect."

Smith's last annual review, in September, categorized his work as "successful," according to personnel records obtained by The Arizona Republic via the state's public records laws. Most of the comments rated his work as outstanding and none fell below standards.

He hadn't been a part of conversations about his performance being poor until he received the PIP in January, Smith said.

Bromwich said the city didn't fully understand Smith's complaint about legal interference but believed it again stemmed from discontent with how the state restricted OAT's authority.

Taylor Seely covers Phoenix for The Arizona Republic / azcentral.com. Reach her at tseely@arizonarepublic.com or by phone at 480-476-6116.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix blasts disgruntled police oversight director in letter to DOJ