A Day After Receiving Police Endorsement, Gallego Asks DOJ To Ease Up On Oversight Of Phoenix PD

On the heels of a surprising endorsement from a pro-Trump police group, Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego asked federal law enforcement not to impose reforms on the Phoenix Police Department, following an investigation that uncovered an alleged pattern of civil rights violations.

The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association posted a copy of the letter from Gallego to the DOJ on Facebook Tuesday — a day after the Arizona Police Association, an umbrella advocacy organization for more than 50 police agencies (including Phoenix’s), announced its endorsement of Democratic candidate Gallego for U.S. Senate against Republican Kari Lake.

The timing of Gallego’s letter is notable, given how quickly it was sent following Gallego’s endorsement by the Arizona police group, whose leader has also made a show of endorsing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Gallego’s campaign declined to comment regarding the letter to the DOJ. The Arizona Police Association did not respond to a request to discuss its endorsement.

Gallego, an ex-member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus who was critical of law enforcement after George Floyd’s murder in 2020, has been recasting himself as a moderate to win over Arizona independents.

In the letter to Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke, Gallego wrote that he was “deeply concerned” about the DOJ’s attempt to impose a consent decree — essentially, a court-ordered improvement plan — on the Phoenix Police Department, in response to the DOJ’s findings that Phoenix officers used excessive force and violated the rights of people of color, homeless people and protesters.

Gallego, whose ex-wife, Kate Gallego, is Phoenix’s Democratic mayor, cited “a mere 120 incidents” uncovered by the DOJ over