Reopened recruit process could attract new Phoenix police chief candidates
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Phoenix reopened recruitment for police chief candidates. Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Phoenix officials believe the city will soon see more applicants for its open police chief job because there was a false public perception that interim chief Michael Sullivan was likely to move into the position.
Catch up quick: Sullivan withdrew his candidacy on Tuesday, and city manager Jeff Barton announced he would reopen the recruitment process.
Sullivan, who said stepping aside was in the department's best interest, will work through April 18.
- A late 2024 survey of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association showed that 86% believed the department wasn't moving in the right direction under Sullivan and that 88% believed PLEA shouldn't support him for the permanent chief position.
- Support for Sullivan was even worse in a survey of Phoenix Police Sergeants and Lieutenants Association members.
State of play: The interim chief was one of four finalists to be the next police chief, but rather than move forward with the others, Barton reopened the recruitment process.
- He believes that other potential candidates, both inside and outside the department, likely chose not to apply due to a perception that Sullivan was a shoo-in for the job, city spokesperson Dan Wilson told Axios.
- Wilson said some candidates from outside the department may have been hesitant to publicly put out their names as applicants for other jobs.
- There might have also been internal candidates who shied away because they assumed Sullivan would get the job, he added.
Zoom in: Barton said that if he'd felt one of the other three finalists was the right person for the job, he would've hired them, Wilson said.
- City Council Member Jim Waring told Axios he's hopeful the fresh recruitment process will reveal more experienced candidates.
- He noted that none of the other finalists led departments.
- Waring said there's "a difference between being a deputy or assistant and being the person sitting in the big chair making the decisions."
The intrigue: A three-year U.S. Department of Justice investigation under the Biden administration found a pattern of discriminatory enforcement and violations of constitutional rights by Phoenix police.
- DOJ's findings prompted concerns that the feds would seek to impose a consent decree on the Phoenix Police Department.
- President Trump's election, which happened before the city began its search for a new police chief, likely eliminated that possibility.
- Wilson said the expected end of the DOJ probe will make the chief job more attractive.
Flashback: The city hired Sullivan as interim chief in 2022 to oversee the department while the DOJ investigation was ongoing.
- Before coming to Phoenix, Sullivan was brought in to the Baltimore Police Department as deputy commissioner of its compliance bureau to help navigate a federal consent decree.
- Barton said at the time that Sullivan's experience working with communities, the DOJ and federal courts gave him confidence in the new interim chief during "an important time."
- Vice Mayor Ann O'Brien told Axios she was appreciative that Sullivan laid "a foundation for some change."
What we're watching: The city said it's committed to implementing reforms with or without the DOJ.
What's next: The city will begin accepting applications on Friday and that process will end May 5, Wilson said.