Chief Garcia still in the dark about Wilson's poor supervision.

The New Times' expands on Schweikert's memo from last week's news. In his own memo responding to all that on November 28, Chief Garcia sounds like he either really was clueless until Schweikert's memo hit Channel 5, or he's about to hang Mark Schweikert out to dry for writing it in the first place. Everyone seems to just be covering their asses now...

------------------------------------

Sex With Minors: Supervisor of Detective Accused of Sexually Assaulting Two Teenage Boys Claims Top City Officials Protected the Cop

By Monica Alonzo

Published Mon., Dec. 3 2012 at 6:00 AM                                             Councilman 

Tom Simplot

Assistant Police Chief Tracy Montgomery

Phoenix police Sergeant Mark Schweikert, supervisor of a now-former Phoenix police detective accused of having sex with two teenage boys, claims that two city officials meddled in his efforts to deal with the detective's work problems.

 In the 22-page memo, first obtained by CBS 5 reporter Donna Rossi, Schweikert alleges that Phoenix Councilman Tom Simplot and Assistant Police Chief Tracy Montgomery, both openly gay, interfered in his dealings with Wilson.

Schweikert reveals that he was "concerned" about Wilson's emotional state and knew that "Wilson [was] up to something" in the weeks leading up to his arrest.
Phoenix Police Department spokesman Trent Crump says department officials, including Montgomery, aren't commenting on the matter because it's under review.

However, Simplot's office provided New Times a copy of a memo written by Phoenix Police Chief Daniel Garcia on November 28 to City Manager David Cavazos to "address the question of Councilman Simplot's alleged involvement in influencing Sergeant Mark Schweikert's actions in the supervision of former Detective Chris Wilson."

Garica writes that he has "no information that would support the allegation, and I am not aware of any involvement by Councilman Simplot in attempting to influence Sergeant Mark Schweikert in supervising the police duties of former Detective Chris Wilson."
Police arrested Wilson, 43, on August 7 in connection with the alleged sexual assaults of a 14-year-old and a 17-year-old. Wilson served on the police department's Community Response Squad as outreach officer to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

 Schweikert says Wilson "would make his close relationship with Councilman Simplot known" and "would brag about being Councilman Simplot's workout partner."

Schweikert writes, "Mr. Wilson advised me on several occasions that he was invited to attend formal events with Councilman Simplot."

Simplot tells New Times that he has not read the memo but that he has never intervened in matters involving city employees.

The matter is under investigation by the city's Equal Opportunity Department, where Schweikert filed a formal complaint in late September over officials' allegedly creating a hostile work environment for him with their interference.
Schweikert apparently had complained to the EOD before September about Montgomery "interfering" with the management of his squad, but it went ignored, he says.

"As time passed, no one ever followed up on my complaint," Schweikert writes. "I felt my complaint was dismissed in a passive-aggressive manner."

Schweikert's claims are explosive because Wilson met the boys he is accused of sexually assaulting through his positions as a liaison officer. And there were complaints about Wilson from the community, according to Schweikert -- including that Wilson didn't communicate well with the community, was not connecting with gay churches or businesses, was arrogant, was unapproachable, and was "an asshole."

But Schweikert says he didn't feel -- given Wilson's political connections -- that he could act on those complaints or take any action against Wilson.

It's only speculation whether Wilson would have remained in his post and engaged in the alleged subsequent sexual assaults if Schweikert had addressed the problems with Wilson.

Wilson would "infer that his attendance at various LGBT functions was mandated by [Simplot] and would require the payment of overtime," Schweikert writes.

Simplot says Wilson clearly was "not the person any of us thought he was. He is a confessed pedophile. He manipulated the community. He manipulated the police department. He manipulated City Hall. I don't know what he said or didn't say, and I have to believe that Officer Wilson was manipulating his boss like he manipulated everybody else."

Simplot acknowledges that he and Wilson worked out at the same gym. He says Wilson's role as liaison officer required him to attend LGBT community events.
"That's his job description," Simplot explains, adding that Wilson apparently would take "a kernel of fact and blow it up into something much more than it ever was."

When issues arose involving Wilson, Schweikert claims, any actions he took were given special scrutiny by Montgomery. Schweikert also says his superiors would advise him "not to make an issue of it" and let them "do what they wanted to do."

In his memo, Schweikert recalls one instance in which Wilson was investigating a complaint of misconduct against another police officer. Schweikert was planning to forward the complaint to the police department's Professional Standards Bureau, which investigates such complaints, when, he claims, Montgomery told him to put things on hold.

Schweikert agreed, and told Wilson to cease his investigation based on Montgomery's order.

Schweikert says he was later called into Montgomery's office and accused "of disobeying her directives." He says she was "angry and proceeded to berate me."
Montgomery had given a different order to Wilson regarding the investigation of this police officer, Schweikert says, and she "advised me that I had no right to order Mr. Wilson to stop his investigation."

Schweikert says he tried to explain that he was only doing what she asked. He says "she slowed her speech to ... indicate I was slow to understand."

He writes that Montgomery said to him: "Mark, I'm going to be direct with you. You may not know this but each chief is assigned to an advisory group. Chris [Wilson] answers to me. You are working in a very political position. Your performance has been fine. We are not at that point of having you removed."
He says he took those comments as a veiled threat against his job.

He told one police commander about "how difficult it was ... to supervise Mr. Wilson" and that "Wilson would report directly" to Simplot or Montgomery.
Schweikert also says he has an e-mail that "clearly states [Montgomery] was communicating directly to Mr. Wilson instead of communicating concerns via the chain of command."

When Wilson was "hostile toward a fellow teammate," Schweikert says, he brought Wilson into his office and told him "his behavior ... was inappropriate" and documented the incident in Wilson's file.

"During this time period, Assistant Chief Montgomery was questioning my team's tactics on a regular basis, and she seemed extra critical of my work since I had coached Mr. Wilson" about his behavior toward a fellow cop, Schweikert writes.
Schweikert says during the Pride Festival, Wilson "went against .. team protocol" and used "false pretenses" to get a fully-marked police car, with its lights flashing, into the festival's parade.

"We did not have a need for the vehicle," Schweikert writes, adding that his lieutenant told him "not to make and issue of it and let Mr. Wilson" do what he wanted to do.

Schweikert continues: "Mr. Wilson...failed to consult me" and was "untouchable because of the protection granted...by Assistant Chief Montgomery."

Schweikert says that when he attempted to address some of Wilson's performance issues, Wilson arranged for the two of them to meet with Megan Schmitz, Simplot's chief of staff.

Schmitz is also the chair of the board of directors for 1 n 10 Youth Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to building self-esteem and acceptance among LGBT youth, including those questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity.

While the three were in the meeting room, Schweikert says Schmitz told him that Simplot also wanted to attend the meeting.

"Ms. Schmitz focused the conversation on how great Mr. Wilson has been to her and Councilman Simplot. The accolades for Mr. Wilson, in my opinion, were in response to counter the negative feedback Mr. Wilson had received" from members of the LGBT community.

During the conversation, Schweikert says, Simplot walked into the room "thanked me for allowing Mr. Wilson to work with him, and he noted what a great job Mr. Wilson was doing" before leaving the room.

"I felt that Councilman Simplot was using his position to influence me not to take supervisory action toward Mr. Wilson and discount any negative feedback [about Wilson] from various community members," Schweikert writes in his memo. "I felt that Councilman Simplot was trying to intimidate me.

Simplot says he pops into meetings all the time and that occasion was no different -- he says he just made a few remarks and left.

"Clearly, Wilson is a master at manipulation," Simplot says.

Schweikert's memo also details noticeable changes in Wilson's behavior in the weeks before his arrest.

"I had observed that he had been distant at work, and he did not seem happy," Schweikert writes. "I was concerned about Mr. Wilson, but I did not have enough to articulate a request for a Work Fitness Evaluation...I felt that he could lose his temper at any moment."

In his memo, Schweikert also notes at least one occasion where Wilson took one of his now-alleged victims to the dentist.

"I did not think what Mr. Wilson was doing [was] appropriate, but it was not a violation of policy," he writes. "I did not question what Mr. Wilson did with his personal time."

Schweikert memo on Simplot hits the stands...

Sorry to just be catching this up - am out of town with a family emergency. Note the link embedded in the article to the full PHX PD memo by Sgt. Mark Schweikert.

---------------------

Memo claims ex cop accused of sex with minors was protected

Posted: Nov 27, 2012 7:01 PM MST

Updated: Nov 28, 2012 10:33 AM MST  

By Donna Rossi /PHOENIX (CBS) - 

 Maricopa County prosecutors want a court-ordered HIV test for a former police officer accused of having sex with two teens boys.

Former Phoenix police detective Chris Wilson appeared in court today. Wilson was arrested in August for having sex with a 14-year-old and 17-year-old that he met through his position as the liaison officer to the LGBT community.

The judge will hear arguments on the HIV testing at a future hearing. The defense is asking the accusers to submit to tests as well.

In another development in the Wilson case, CBS 5 News has obtained a document that outlines concerns about Wilson's professional performance long before his arrest.  [Click here to read the full document (PDF)]

Shortly after Wilson was arrested there were rumblings that Wilson had been having problems as the LGBT liaison for a couple of years. It was rumored that his sergeant documented those problems but felt powerless to do anything.
CBS 5 News tried to get those documents but our public records request was denied. The city cited an ongoing investigation. But through a verified source, CBS 5 News obtained the documentation a few weeks ago.

In a 22-page memo written by Wilson's immediate supervisor, Sgt. Mark Schweikert tells the story of a rogue detective who should have been reigned in, perhaps even replaced as the LGBT liaison.

In the memo Schweikert writes that he told his commander it was difficult to supervise Wilson because of interference from openly gay City Councilman Tom Simplot and out Assistance Chief Tracy Montgomery.

Schweikert writes that Wilson made it known that Simplot was his work out buddy. At one point Schweikert writes that he felt Simplot was using his position to influence and intimidate him to not take supervisory action against Wilson, even though a host of citizen's in the LGBT community complained about Wilson. 

Throughout the document Schweikert details one example after another where Montgomery allegedly pulled rank and made decisions that protected Wilson even though she was not in his chain of command.

The document, if true, raises questions about whether, if managed properly, Wilson might have eventually been removed as the LGBT liaison and not have met the boys he's accused of victimizing.

It's important to point out that the memo is only the account as document by Schweikert.

The document is in the hands of city leaders and the accusations are being investigated by the city Equal Opportunity Department as part of a hostile work environment complaint filed by Schweikert.

The police department said they would not comment until that investigation is over.

Simplot's assistant said he would be happy to address the accusations but he is out of the country until late Tuesday night.

New LGBTQ liasons: What else has changed?

The Maricopa County Superior Court has removed the on-line records pertaining to Chris Wilson's prosecution, preventing the community from witnessing how justice is done, or showing up to show support for the victims. I can't even tell who the judge is. Here's the information about his case you need to know to inquire at the court clerk's office: 

Please call and complain about secrecy in the judicial process. No other admitted child molester gets this kind of protection from public scrutiny.

SUPERIOR COURT RECORDS:  (This includes questions about Marriage Licenses, Divorce Decrees, or Court Cases) To view information on the website click here, or to speak with a deputy clerk you may call the Clerk's Public Records Office and Customer Service Center at (602)-506-3360

The indictment was filed against Christopher Wilson (DOB 11/1968) in Maricopa Superior Court:  # CR2012142112

 

------------------------------

 

 

I began the "Queers Are Cool" campaign to alert the activist community that Chris Wilson wasn't an aberration, or just "one officer who decided to be stupid" - I guess that's what they call child sexual abuse at the PHX PD - just being "stupid." Wilson built trust with young activists just like he was supposed to as a Red Squad detective, and was commended for it - then he abused his trust and power just as so many other cops do theirs. 

The Phoenix Police should lay off the "stranger danger" emphasis in their public education BS about sexual assaults and look at the basics of how they deal institutionally with trust and power. Immediately after Wilson's arrest became public, instead of pointing out that the majority of child abuse happens at the hands of those well know to the child or family, the PHX PD released composite sketches of a Latino male snatching young girls from school bus stops - that all came AFTER the guy was caught. Why release images like that once the suspect is no longer a threat? Just to distract from the real danger - the cops themselves. 

The PPD took one giant step back from Chris Wilson's excess, but it seems to be a strategy for disrupting local activist communities: instead of bashing in our heads in Phoenix, the cops are busy trying to "friend" us - and get in bed with the most vulnerable to their tactics - our youth. Let's learn from that, and teach our children well...

------------------------

 

Phoenix police name new liaisons to the city's LGBT community

Phoenix police name new liaisons to the city's LGBT community

by Cecilia Chan - Nov. 17, 2012 09:50 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com

Two detectives recently took on roles as the Phoenix Police Department's liaisons to the city's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Police Chief Daniel V. Garcia's announcement in October came three months after the arrest of the previous liaison, Detective Christopher J. Wilson, on suspicion of sexual misconduct with two teenage boys.

Wilson, who handed in his badge immediately after his August arrest, met one of the boys through his duties with the LGBT community, according to court documents. Wilson sits in jail and faces an initial pretrial conference Nov. 27.

Last week, the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, which oversees peace-officer training, conduct and certification, accepted Wilson's voluntary relinquishment of his state certification without discussion.

On Oct. 31, Garcia introduced Detectives Julie Smith and Dottie Conroy at department headquarters to representatives from various community groups, including the Phoenix Police LGBT Citizen Advisory Board.

Detective Dottie Conroy

Conroy, a 17-year veteran, said that as an openly gay woman, it's an opportunity "to deal with the community that I love."

Detective Julie Smith

Smith, who is heterosexual, said since joining the department nine years ago, she had always wanted to work with the various communities in Phoenix. The Phoenix native said she looks forward to her new assignment because "it is so diverse and so wonderful."

In 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey estimated 6.4 percent of Phoenix's population identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. That's about 63,222 people.

Garcia, who became chief in May, will assign two detectives to each of the department's eight community advisory boards for minority groups, which include Muslims, Sikhs, Hispanics and African-Americans.

The move will enable the department to do more outreach, said Gerald Richard, assistant to the police chief.

Richard said community advisory boards foster dialog and build relationships between the department and minority groups to handle issues before they erupt into turmoil.

Don Hamill, a community activist who has served as a board member of Phoenix Pride, told Garcia officers still need more education.

"There is a problem in your force, and it affects everybody in this room," Hamill said.

Hamill said he recently overheard uniformed officers use the words, " 'the gays,' because they've been told not to use the 'F' word."

"It's wrong," Hamill said. "I was shocked to hear it. I pay their salary (and) pension."

He told the chief that there should be zero tolerance for inappropriate language, and officers should use no other adjective than citizen in talking about groups of people.

"I agree with you 100 percent," Garcia said. "We are not at Shangri-La yet."

Patrick Kelley, who co-chairs the LGBT Citizen Advisory Board, also commended the selection of Conroy and Smith.

Kelley said advisory groups help bring understanding between the community and police. He said about a year ago, a Phoenix police officer stopped a man dressed in drag going to a fundraising event and asked, "Why are you dressed like a freak?"

Kelley said the issue was brought up at an advisory-board meeting.

He said officers at the precinct where the incident took place received cultural-sensitivity training.

"When we recognize a problem, we address it professionally and not by burning down half of the city because you have one officer who decided to be stupid."

Chris Wilson: Indicted and soon to be buried.

QUEERS ARE COOL.

IT'S THE COPS 

WHO CAN'T BE TRUSTED.

ABOLISH THE PHOENIX POLICE 

RED SQUAD.

(MY NEWEST T-SHIRT DESIGN...)

Made it to court for the reading of Chris Wilson's indictment by Judge Brian Rees. He has a public defender, and it looks like he's going to be in Joe Arpiao's "protective" custody (now that's an oxymoron) for the duration; under the Arizona Revised Statutes, the charges involving that 14-year old aren't bailable under any conditions. 

He's going to have a hell of a road from here on out, even if he somehow gets acquitted or the charges are miraculously dropped. Once you're charged with a sex offense against a child in Arizona, your life is pretty much over. Only a few folks I know have managed to fight back, and that's largely because they're actually innocent (like Courtney Bisbee, who's still fighting). The process of prosecution itself destroys human beings, good and bad alike.

Anyway, channel 3 news was there, and I chatted with the reporter from the AZ Republic afterwards - she was expecting Occupy Phoenix to be there. As were the cops, apparently - they had two armed deputies at each set of doors, and at least a couple of detectives circulated around the huge room. No one gave me any grief, though, and I was able to educate some folks in the crowd about the Red Squad before it all got started.

Wilson looked like hell in stripes and cuffs, for what it's worth - not that anyone looks good when being paraded into court from jail, but he was gray and gaunt and probably freezing cold. The courtroom is shiny and new, the seating is extra comfy, the technology is beyond me, and all the criminals are kept in a glass room now instead of in the jury box, but the prisoners all still look cold and beaten down, and they still wear pink underwear under their stripes, lest they forget one must be mocked and repeatedly humiliated until proven guilty in Maricopa County...

Wilson's next hearing will be October 8 at 8:15am in Maricopa County Superior Court. Call the criminal court info desk the day before to confirm time and place (602-506-8575). The case number to reference is CR2012-142112-001. 

As for myself, I don't think I'll be going to his future court dates. My focus now is not on Wilson's suffering - the system will probably punish him pretty harshly. It already is, and it's not something I take pleasure in watching. The problem for us left to deal with is really the continued presence of the Red Squad in our community, not the future of their exiled detective - except to the extent that he is now a prisoner whose rights and humanity I care about.

Stay tuned here for updates on Wilson and send your Red Squad stories as well as thoughts on police alternatives to redsquadresistance@gmail.com.

Wilson's Indictment to be read: Aug 23, 8:30am.

Chris Wilson apparently waived his preliminary hearing today. His next scheduled appearance is on Thursday, August 23, 8:30am, 3rd floor of the new Superior Courthouse (175 W. Madison St.). His indictment will be read at this hearing. Below is the number to call the day ahead to confirm that it's still on - I'd encourage anyone to do that who plans to come.

Beyond the indictment, I don't know that I'll be going to more hearings unless he takes this to trial, which I doubt he will. I plan to put my energy into protesting the Red Squad instead - the criminal justice system will be sure to punish Wilson handily, more so than his victims would probably even desire. I don't think it needs my encouragement to do its dirty work, anyway. But if you have a different take on this, please send in a guest post to redsquadresistance@gmail.com.

Peg

Friending the Phoenix Police...

The most helpful thing I have to offer my comrades here is the truth of my own experience with the Red Squad. Reserve your judgement, please, as this is going to come out in pieces, and I'm still figuring it all out as I go. 

Here's Part I:

I was actually really fucking with this guy, not flirting with him. 
At least I thought I was...

PUENTE March for Dignity and Justice

Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix

July 28, 2012

The first time I remember meeting Sgt. Mark Schweikert was in front of the Phoenix Police HQ on W. Washington Street the day after his colleague Sgt. Sean Drenth was murdered, back in October 2010. I had spent most of the preceding two weeks protesting the Phoenix Police over the brutal and unjustified killing of Danny Rodriguez by PPD officer Richard Chrisman, and was preparing for an upcoming Day Against Police Brutality action - I'd been hating the police a lot of late.

But the news about Sean Drenth saddened me, hitting kind of close to home. Whether or not one thinks he was crooked and about to turn state's evidence - and was thus murdered by his own brothers in blue - is a side issue. As news of his death spread through my Facebook community, I saw a handful of people outright celebrating another cop being taken off the beat. It didn't go over well with me, and I went on a rant of sorts.

I was pretty removed from radical politics at the time, trying harder to get others to join me in my fight with the DOC than to figure out what their things were and why they felt as they did. My reaction to the celebrations over that cop's death was intensely personal. My father, the man who taught me to be the radical I am today, was a military intelligence officer who wore the uniform of the state for most of my life. At one point he was the Director of Security at Fort Dix. He believed passionately in his mission to defend America and Democracy the world over, and spent a considerable amount of time overseas in combat with people I may have called my comrades in another time and place. 

I have had a great many problems with my Dad's devout patriotism, and still prefer not to wonder about the things he may have done in my name, as an American soldier in war. But I know my father to be a good man nonetheless, one who defies racism and promotes equality in his relationships and business dealings, despite his conservative politics. He expressly taught me to question authority, and to resist Power if the compromise demanded for reward or privilege was of my values - which it always seems to be. He lived to regret that, I think, because his was the first authority I challenged as I aged. But I owe much of who I am to that man, and I love him dearly. 

So, while I regard the police as enemies of the People, generally, I do not accept the premise that donning the uniform of the state turns one into a non-person and justifies an outright celebration of a cop's murder. I also live with the grief of survivors of homicide and suicide every day, and would not wish that on any officer's family, no matter what I may think of the victim themselves. I was furious with my Facebook friends who felt otherwise, and stormed out of the conversation and my home to work out my frustration in chalk. My drive to the Capitol, where I found most of my favorite targets, took me by the Police HQ, where I impulsively stopped and got out to leave a giant peace sign on their sidewalk - more for myself, I think, than for them.

I wasn't expecting media to be there, and was interrupted to explain my offering: the Peace was just for the day for them to bury their dead, I basically said - the war would be back on again  tomorrow.

That was when I met Mark Schweikert; formally, anyway. He and Chris Wilson were heading out of the PD and stopped to see what I was chalking. Schweikert was touched - he said that Drenth was not only a colleague but a friend of his. I could identify. My ex-lover sat down in front of a train a few years back, so I knew how devastating news of such a sudden and violent death could be to a close-knit community, which I assumed the PHX PD was - and at the time no one really knew how Drenth died. I guess we still don't. 

In any case, I had a moment of sympathy for the police that day. My right to express myself on their sidewalk even if it wasn't what they wanted to hear was affirmed, though they were visibly relieved to see what I was leaving, considering my messages of the preceding two weeks. We chatted for a minute about the legality of my chalking. Mark told me to have cops or security guards who give me trouble over what I do on the public sidewalk call their squad if I need to; Chris Wilson gave me his business card since Mark didn't have one. 

It didn't seem to be any big deal to me to accept the Red Squad's protection, so to speak. I felt they were doing the job they were supposed to - which was to defend my free speech rights. I handed the card a few times to bank guards and beat cops who would enthusiastically call the Red Squad to come arrest me, then wish me a good day and back off every time. Basically, until the rest of the town learned they would just have to put up with me, Schweikert and the PPD Red Squad had my back. For awhile, at least, I appreciated that.

That was the beginning of my long slow dance with the Red Squad and their Sargent, Mark Schweikert. I didn't do much critical analysis of their role as the protest police back then - I took it at face value that Mark and Al and their buddies really did just want to help make sure we all had a safe, pleasant protest experience. The long time peace activists seemed to trust that much as well - the Red Squad was a familiar, even reassuring part of the protest landscape in Phoenix. And most of the PHX Police were beginning to recognize me and wish me well in my sidewalk activity...which admittedly took the fun out of some of it, and certainly added to my sense of complacency. No one was beating our heads in at the actions I was going to, at least, so as protest police go, I must have thought, Phoenix was relatively okay.

Yes, I'm a middle class white woman, by the way, and that was my privilege speaking up there. It wore off real quick, once I got into the trenches here.

I am not the only one in the activist community who has been so seduced. Fortunately, the anarchists I hang with have never hesitated to question the role of Phoenix police in suppressing liberation movements. The cops never tried to engage them in friendly relationships, of course, which protected them from the kind of corruption people like me are vulnerable to. Smiling at me is as close as Phoenix cops get to being nice to anarchists, I think, and I don't really count since I can't articulate anarchist theory well enough to really say I can represent any kind of anarchy, even anarcho-feminism. I just know that many of the people I love and trust the most are sworn anarchists, I am in sympathy with their politics, I draw power and inspiration from their movement, and I appreciate the diversity of tactics they bring to the struggle.

Those folks I was so angry at on Facebook about Sean Drenth's death are really the ones who have taught me the most about critiquing the police - they were far more astute about state power than I was at the time, and helped me rein in my sentimentality about my old man before it got me into trouble. That's not to say I think we need to dehumanize our enemies in order to fight them effectively - not at all. It's just to say that we need to be sure to recognize the enemy when we see them, and call them what they are...and whether we like to admit it or not, they are human beings, not pigs.


Human or not, though, their objective is to keep not only our direct actions but our liberation movements from making any real impact on the status quo. Not only is that not something I would tolerate among my friends, it's a sure indicator that you're talking about an enemy soldier. They wear the trusted uniform of the state instead of white hoods but they are in the employ of an institution which exists to oppress, repress, and suppress the masses to the well-being of a privileged few: a white supremacy is what the whole "justice" system in this state supports. The standard MO of the police is also to exploit our communities' fears, prejudices, and vulnerabilities in order to maintain their own positions of privilege and power as our "protectors" - or rather, our keepers.

I am tired of being kept, frankly, and I can't think of any institution more contemptible to work for than those which make up the Prison Industrial Complex...and for their role, I must assert again that while police officers are indeed human beings, they are also the enemies of freedom. If you are a community activist committed to a liberation movement and you trust a cop, beware. 

Rule number 1: Do not "friend" the police. Any of them. Trusting you with their vulnerable or "human" side - or offering special privilege - is part of the seduction. Make it clear to them that you can only be trusted to turn their weaknesses against them because they are the enemy, and refuse to accept any of the privilege they may offer, no matter how small.

Peggy Plews

Disorder in the court! No sign of Wilson.

Made it down to the courthouse late this AM with one of my signs and some fliers; everyone else was already inside. I figured there was a good chance nothing would happen, so I took my position on Jefferson with my message about Queers being cool, and stirred folks up about not trusting cops. I went home while the troops inside were still toughing it out, though. Apparently about eight of us made it to court this AM, and waited for hours.

As of the latest report on the Spacebook "Preliminary Hearing" event page, Wilson's case wasn't called this morning, and the gang was thrown out of the courtroom for creating a disturbance before it recessed for lunch. What kind of disturbance there was, if any, I don't know. I find the whole reason we had to be there disturbing, frankly. 

The next scheduled court hearing for Chris Wilson is Friday, August 17 at 8:30 am in the new Superior Courthouse, 175 W. Madison St., PHX 3rd Floor, Courtroom 3A (today it was moved to 3B, so ask when you get there).

Wilson Preliminary Hearing: FRI AUG 17 8:30

sorry for the confusion about the court appearances, folks.  It'll be good to touch base in person with people this AM anyway.

Here's my sign:

 the most important message we need to relay 

in the wake of this, I think...

For those of you thinking about going to court this morning, it is apparently just a status conference, which I don't think anyone else is privy to. Here's what we want to make a showing for:

Phoenix Police Detective Christopher Wilson

Preliminary Hearing

Friday, AUGUST 17 at 8:30am 

Maricopa County Superior Court

South Court Tower ROOM 3a

175 W. Madison, PHX 85003

 (This is the new court building)

Am attaching a suggested flier below to hand out that day...feel free to print and distribute, or come up with something of your own. It would help if anyone has a stash of "KNOW YOUR RIGHTS" cards to bring by and hand outFriday morning while people wait to get into the courthouse.

A brief pre-history of the Phoenix Red Squad.

This contribution comes from an old Phoenix-area radical...

-------------------from MB---------------

I would like to write this to get the ball rolling on other more in depth accounts but it is important to note there was a time before now when dealing with the Red Squad was for lack of a better term, light-hearted. In the late 90's and early 2000's when radicalism in Phoenix began to slowly re-emerge from a mostly long dormant sleep, demonstrations and actions began to pick up steam. The vast majority of this beginning was spent with Red Squad Detective Al Ramirez. Al, would show up to all sorts of events from picnics to protests. This is a personal account and others might differ but from my stance Al was the old school cop that felt his job was to be an actual liason with “communities” from the Phoenix Police Department. Sometimes, events that were designed to be more confrontational or larger in scope Al would be absent from. There were other Cops on the squad at the time but generally, we dealt with Al. Or rather, Al dealt with us.

The name red squad, was tongue in cheek, at least for me, I never got the feeling in 2001 that we were all about to be deported to Russia. There were some interesting moments looking back on it when I really started to notice things change. Twelve years on having worked in the corporate world, 2001 and 2002 should have felt like that moment when a client says “oh, we would like you to meet our new director.” This generally, is always a bad sign. This was around the time when JTTF's were proliferating throughout the country, the feds had completely switched their focus to anarchists prior to September 2001 and local police were being trained by departments that had been dealing with radicals for years. I remember being at a protest around this time, I honestly don't remember if I overheard it or if someone pointed it out but a new lady from the FBI had showed up, with the red squad.

Things began to change slowly at this point and really for me, ended with a big moment for “activism” in Phoenix Arizona. We started hearing a little less from the red squad at this point and more from columns of police at demonstrations and city lawyers showing up at our meetings. You could say that it was the post September 2001 way to deal with dissent, but I don't think for a second without planes flying into buildings it would have been different. The thing was, they were not quite ready to use tactics they had developed in the drug war on radicals. But you can be sure, that is what they were going for. It was around this time we found out that police departments local and national were classifying radicals as a gang.

We still had a bit of ways to go, in 2003 after one of the largest actions led by radicals in the history of Phoenix we set our sights on International Womens Day. We were determined to have a big march with a celabratory feel led by anarchist women. The one thing that many of us knew: the police had been threatening mainstreem groups saying “what happened on February 15th would not be tolerated.” This was in reference to 3000+ people completely tying up traffic in Downtown Phoenix for hours, and hours. Many of the organizers knew that an all out confrontation with PPD at International Womens Day was not the right step, what we failed to take into account was the simple fact that: the PPD were determined to have a confrontation.

The tension was in the air, 800+ people showed up to the demonstration, there was a festive tone amongst the majority of the participants. There was little to no police involvement for the majority of the march. As we entered the Phoenix Arts District, out of nowhere police officers on horseback attacked, with a column of cops backing them up. Many arrests and injuries were recorded. But most telling, as the police horses advanced, there was Al, clearly confused and frustrated as to what just transpired. What happened was at least at my vantage point, clearly out of his hands. For me, that was the end of the beginning and what would signal years later a complete shift in how demonstrations were managed and who was managing them. If you told me that Al's group in 2000 would be able to thwart, trick and manage something like Occupy into oblivion, I would have laughed. Not only was that not their job, but the Red Squad didn't have those sorts of folks. Maybe it is just my personal experience, but it is very hard for me to imagine the red squad of the past being impressed with the red squad a decade on. And that's not to say that I desire either, it is just my reflection, out of principle. \\

- MB

PHX Detective Chris Wilson screws LGBTQ community.

On Tuesday, August 7, Detective Chris Wilson was arrested for ten counts of criminal sexual conduct with minors, relating to his activity with both a 17-year old and a 14-year old victim. He confessed to almost all the allegations made by the youth involved, without an attorney. His crimes are not considered bailable, so in jail he still sits.  This Wednesday, August 15 at 8:30am there will be a preliminary hearing on his case (and presumably custody/release arrangements) in Maricopa County Superior Court, (South Court Tower) 175 West Madison Street,  3rd Floor, Courtroom 3a. We encourage all concerned citizens to attend.

Most Phoenix activists who know Wilson met him in his capacity as either one of the front line detectives with the Red Squad, policing all of our protest activities, or as the official liason from the Phoenix Police Department to the GLBTQ community. He was a frequent visitor to the Occupy canopies and actions this past year, often trying to befriend the most vulnerable and easily influenced activists. Some of the young guys he cultivated relationships with admired him so much that they had serious credibility problems in their own movements. It didn't help that he made them demonstrate their loyalty to him in front of their peers, among other things, by letting them defend him against hecklers at a hard core ALEC protest.

According to the information I have, the two youth who Wilson exploited are seen as activists themselves. The 17 year old, at least, knew Wilson through his role as the police liason to the GLBTQ community. They had several encounters over a period of a few months; the main incident with the 14 year old was just over the 4th of July, though, and he's the one who initially reported the sexual activity.

The Phoenix Police department apparently acted swiftly to interview and arrest Wilson - don't know how they couldn't though, given the circumstances. I mean, he waived his right to remain silent and confessed to just about everything - they HAD to arrest him or go to jail themselves.it's kind of a no-brainer that he's going to be punished to the fullest - he's a gay cop who was just busted doing a three-way with two boys:  trust me, he's going to be the most hated man in Arizona's prisons, if he survives Joe's jail while being prosecuted. Guards will be selling tickets to the guys to get a shot at him, if the DOC gives them a chance. Of course the PHX PD is distancing themselves from him as quickly as possible - I would too, if he was representing me as being trustworthy to the people he was screwing over on the side.

Chris Wilson did more damage to the gay community than to the Phoenix Police Department, though. No matter how disgusted the public may be when something like this happens, our cops will still get their overtime pay to protect and serve us, because the people of this state are ruled by their fears, not their hopes or values. The people will not only buy but they will wholeheatedly promote the line that Wilson's conduct doesn't reflect on the Phoenix Police Department as a whole - and they'll infer from the silence that the real reason he was sexually active with those boys is because he was gay - that it was all about sexual deviance, not the abuse of power.  That's what people tend to think about men who rape women, too.

I contend that Wilson's transgression was about both - and since others will spend plenty of time on the sex aspect, I want to discuss how Wilson showed no respect for boundaries with those youth in part because he's been taught to cross them all the time.


See, our comrades in Seattle and Oakland and New York have been getting raided and beaten since the Occupies took hold last fall. In Phoenix, the cops don't beat us down with their billy clubs or flashlights, though - not at our protests, anyway. They work hardest to befriend activists in order to gather intelligence from us about our social networks and vulnerabilities, key players and potential law enforcement targets, upcoming actions, and so on. We might as well be criminals, the way they see us. If we are at all effective in our activism, in fact, they should think we are a serious threat to the status quo. We appear to pose no such threat here.

The cops have infiltrated us to spread pacifism, paranoia and conflict. They've tied a lot of us up in court all year with bullshit arrests for "camping" when they knew full well those canopies on Chavez Plaza were first amendment props, not actual encampments - and they had the uniformed officers do the dirty work under cover of darkness most of the time, too. But most damaging of all, they've befriended some of us. They'd show up at Occupy smiling the day after our midnight crew was arrested like they didn't even know anyone had been taken away, and make nice with the fresh young activists and privileged white women who are most prone, they think, to fall for their seductions. 

That's largely who defends the humanity of the PHX police against the violence of my speech to this day, still asserting that the people pledged to give their lives defending the status quo are part of the 99%, too...GRR.

C'mon, folks, and get over the math analogy already - we don't all fit that neatly into two classes. What is most important to understand is that the police are not here to serve social justice or liberation movements - the city does not care that much about us having a safe free speech experience (i.e. having police escorts for marches, rallies, etc so we don't get hit by busses). They care about making sure that any fuss we manage to raise is neutralized as quietly and efficiently as possible. That's what the job of the Red Squad is - rendering us useless. That is not the action of an ally.

The Phoenix Police "Red Squad" Detectives.

(REPOSTED from The Diary of a Prison Abolitionist)

June 29, 2011

Top Row
Lt. Bryan Coley, Det. Rick Tamburo, Det. Dottie Conroy, Det. Al Ramirez, 

Det. Rick Flum, Det. Tony Davis

Bottom Row
Det. Jeff Wood, Sgt. Mark Schweikert, Det. Jerry Oliver, 

Det. Chris Wilson, Det. Chris Abril

For those of you not quite so familiar with Phoenix and political protest, I wanted to introduce you to the Phoenix Police Protest Detectives from the Red Squad (also know as the Community Response Team).

I found their photo on-line with a memo from the Secret Service thanking them for assuring that everything went smoothly with George Bush's last visit to town (I believe a bunch of people were planning to arrest him for crimes against humanity). Get to know their faces now, so you recognize them casually chatting it up with our less-alert buddies in the street.

These are the folks who are supposed to convince the rabble that the cops really aren't so bad after all - I mean, look at Al. Everyone loves Al. He just wants us to have a safe protest experience - he's really there to protect our first amendment rights, not inhibit them....right? In fact, he was the first Phoenix Cop to give me the okay to chalk the sidewalks ("just keep it clean, off private property, and on the ground" were the parameters I got).

Thanks for that, Al. I probably wouldn't be facing felony charges for graffiti today if you hadn't nurtured my blossoming artist within when I still thought of you as one of "the good guys"...hmm.

Anyway, this is to remind folks that the real job of every cop - no matter how sweet their smile or gentle their touch when they cuff you - is to maintain order - and that's the same order that has so many people hurting and dying at the bottom with a few living at the top in the luxury they stole from our labor (which we thank them incessantly for the opportunity to provide them at cut rates as we clean their toilets, wipe their asses, and tend their rock gardens...)

That's the order that even the nicest cops maintain for society, and they'll do their duty and haul you off to jail if you disrupt it. A little chalking and chanting from 11am-1pm is okay; channel our energy that way and it helps keep us from launching any meaningful resistance. These guys will almost always police us with a smile (don't be mistaken that that's precisely what they're doing), but that doesn't mean they wouldn't use every other weapon at their disposal, if they have to. In fact, I think they pull them all out for the Anarchists when the Nazis come to town just to keep their training current.

It's been increasingly my observation that - as a rule of thumb - if you're a community organizer and have a "friendly" relationship with your own Red Squad, it's probably a sign you've been co-opted, and your resistance is only enough to make both you and the cops look like you're doing your jobs. In fact, if that's the relationship, then they're keeping you and your people down more effectively than anyone is rising up. If you're really posing a threat to the status quo, even good old Al will come after you and try to take you out - so be heartened if he ever does. Overt tension with the protest detectives seems to worry some folks across progressive and even some more radical movements, but trust me, hearing an occasional "fuck the police" fly through the air - followed by a canister of tear gas being returned to the owner - is a really good sign of resistance.

In Phoenix, for the most part, the Left is much too friendly with the Red Squad, which is employed in the service of the Right (the so-called "People" here - not the real human beings). The cops define the boundaries of what's acceptable and what's too extreme for good citizen protest, it seems - and most progressive cause protestors are really just trying to be good citizens, in the end (listen to the language they use). The cops show us where free speech is and isn't allowed, and remind us when it gets to be a little too obnoxious. We politely police ourselves, even, so they don't have to.

Here's an example of diminished resistance. One day, Al actually convinced some protesters who had chalked outside the PLEA Union Hall to clean up after themselves when the action was over. They complied. Now, I flipped out when he asked me to do that, frankly. What's the point of screaming the truth at them across the sidewalk if you're just going to take it back when you get it all out of your system and pack up to go home? (actually, I apologized for screaming about that at Al that day, but that's different...)

They keep us corralled in invisibly-marked "free speech zones" where we can "safely" let off steam and think we fought a good battle before we all pack up for our parties that night and go back to our daily lives the next week, where we may or may not have the time or energy or means to resist until the Nazis march again in Phoenix...and in that way they have been winning - subduing the restless masses with their paternalism and smiles...maintaining the illusion that we are a real democracy because the people can protest...

Tell me, though, Red Squad - what if Americans, like the young and old alike across the Middle East - seriously demanded more democracy, more equality, more freedom, more justice - and threatened to kick our government out by force if we didn't get it in this election cycle? What would our police state look like then? Would it not look much like theirs?

See, I think that's precisely what we need to be doing, as too many of us have grown too numb to the growing human rights and civil liberties crises around us - much like some of us have stopped actively resisting the fact that we are still at war...too many wars.