Media Credit: Matthew Garcia
Political science junior Mike Kramer holds up a
flier for Phoenix Copwatch, a local citizens activist
group that has charged itself with the task of monitoring
cops across the Valley.
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Political science junior Mike Kramer said he and a group of friends approached a pair of police officers at a south Phoenix AM-PM convenience store on a dark night in 2001.
They were not armed with dangerous weapons but with a video camera, notebooks and a police scanner.
As a pair of Phoenix police officers questioned two Hispanic men in the store's parking lot, Kramer and friends got within 25 feet of the situation and announced their presence to the cops.
Kramer declared loudly that the group, all clad in neon orange T-shirts with "Copwatch: Stop Police Brutality" printed across the front, was present to observe the situation and guarantee the suspects' rights were being protected.
The cops gave the group a once-over and radioed a department supervisor to come to the scene. The supervisor arrived within minutes and answered the group's questions.
Meanwhile, Kramer jotted down badge numbers and another person recorded the scene on videotape.
Kramer was part of a routine patrol for Phoenix Copwatch, a local activist group with the self-appointed task of monitoring Valley law enforcement in hopes of ensuring accountability and preventing police brutality.
While Kramer and fellow "Copwatchers" have patrolled the streets since October 1998, organizers said their mission has been embraced by Valley residents affected by a recent series of officer-involved shootings.
More important, Phoenix Copwatch has gained increased visibility among local police officials, who surprisingly welcome the group's efforts.
Surprising reaction
Kramer said the reaction the group received that night was substantially different from the responses he observed after joining the group in December 1999.
"That night was strange, as it was definitely the nicest reaction we've ever gotten from the cops," said the 25-year-old, recalling the incident. "Whether they're polite or ... make it clear they wish we weren't there, we have a legal right to do what we do."
Each Copwatch patrol consists of three to four people who tackle one area of the Valley and use a police scanner to locate particular incidents. Each member has a specific duty, such as videotaping, writing a brief description of the incident and communicating with both police officers and suspects.
Copwatch members also routinely patrol Mill Avenue for incidents and are present at many local protests, such as a demonstration against Tempe's urban camping ordinance on Nov. 15.
Kate James, a Copwatch organizer and recent ASU graduate, said members also distribute "bust cards," small pamphlets detailing an individual's rights when dealing with the police.
The card fulfills one of the group's essential functions: helping suspects know their rights when they need them the most, she added. In addition to its watchdog efforts, Copwatch also conducts several year-round forums, educating the public about its civil liberties and the legal system.
Caidence Wren, 24, a Copwatch organizer and local elementary school teacher, said the training session also allows organizers to screen out potential troublemakers, such as those with grudges against the police.
"We do this because we've been criticized as being anti-police, but we're specifically against police brutality and for peace and justice," she said.
One recent volunteer is communication junior Leila Sleiman, who joined the group in November for that very reason.
Sleiman, along with boyfriend Jay Bard, 19, said the group's mission was similar to their own beliefs about nonviolence and preventing the possible abuse of power by police officers.
"It's something I really believe in, so I thought that this would further help our knowledge and activism," she said. "I think a small group of people can make a difference."
Small victories
Former ASU faculty member Joel Olsen founded Phoenix Copwatch in October 1998. The practice is not a new one; cop-watching was born out of 1960s activism when Huey Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, began patrolling the streets of Oakland along with his followers in the later part of that decade.
There are more than 20 groups in cities nationwide, including Tucson, New York City, San Francisco and Dallas, all with similar goals of ensuring suspects' rights through monitoring police activity.
One group, Minneapolis-based Anti-Racist Action Copwatch, takes things a step further by urging members to "intervene as much as possible" during arrests and traffic stops in order to distract police offers into allowing suspects to go free.
James said the Phoenix group's activities are not that extreme, choosing instead to passively observe from a "respectable distance" and not interfere with police investigations.
Patrols will not respond to certain incidents, such as homicides and domestic violence situations.
James said while Copwatch has not documented any Rodney King-style beatings in its five-year existence, he believes its efforts have resulted in some small victories, including being thanked by suspects afterward for being present at a particular police stop.
Kramer said reactions from cops he's encountered on patrol have been mixed, and he does not think it's likely that the group will record anything horrific or unjust.
"Usually it doesn't go beyond the level of menacing stares and snide comments," he said. "At other times, the cops have been incredibly polite. But it's not too likely that a cop is going to choose to beat someone down when they know that the public is watching."
Grassroots, lack of green
Because Copwatch is a grassroots group, it has been stymied by a lack of money. Wren said fund-raisers like car washes and yard sales have helped matters, but that members cannot "cover as much of the Valley as we'd hope."
This is unfortunate, she added, because Copwatch's efforts have stepped up patrols and gained visibility in the aftermath of officer-involved shootings in the Valley in the last year, such as the death of Mario Madrigal Jr. in August.
Mesa police officers shot and killed the 15-year-old, who held a knife and reportedly ignored repeated commands to drop his weapon.
Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley decided in October that the four Mesa police officers who shot Madrigal would not face criminal charges.
James said recent events, such as the Nov. 1 beating death of 41-year-old Nathaniel "Skip" Jones by Cincinnati police officers captured on videotape, have helped galvanize Copwatch's mission and step up its patrols and training sessions.
"It's not really a jump in membership or anything like that, but people are happy to hear there's an organization like us out there," she said.
Checks and balances
Tempe Police Sgt. Dan Masters said he welcomes Copwatch's efforts in observing the department's conduct as long as members aren't antagonistic and do not interfere with TPD's control of the situation.
"Any community involvement in what we as police are doing is a good thing," Masters said. "However, I think it's easy to sometimes judge what police do without understanding what it's like for us."
David Wright, an expert at ASU in community review of police complaints, said citizen groups such as Copwatch are vital in maintaining a system of checks and balances in law enforcement.
"If a community is not involved with its police department, both in supporting them and holding them to be accountable, what happens is the police end up taking matters into its own hands. In that sense there's a potential for abuse," he said.
Wright added that Copwatch members ironically could find themselves supporting the police or learning what cops go through, while not necessarily endorsing them.
"If all they're doing is videotaping from a distance, I think the officers should welcome that because it can sometimes teach the community what they're dealing with," he said.
Kramer, however, has a different goal in mind.
"The question that I'm more interested in is what roles the police play in this society. Historically, one of those roles has been to enforce the color line and this continues today," he said. "I want to see the color line destroyed, and I think groups like Copwatch can make a valuable contribution toward this goal."
Reach the reporter at benjamin.leatherman@asu.edu.