Phoenix Copwatch Media

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Copwatch Videos

Know Your Rights During Police Encounters

March 2, 2008

Phoenix Copwatch held a Know Your Rights workshop at the 7th Annual Local to Global Justice Teach-in. Check our calendar to see when the next Know Your Rights event will be held.


Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Phoenix Copwatch Confronts Sheriff Joe Arpaio

June 16, 2006

Phoenix Copwatch held a press conference to protest Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's misuse of Arizona's new anti-human-smuggling law (See our flyer "The Arrests Must Stop" for more information). Sheriff Arpaio decided to come down from his office and talk to us.


Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

Statements and Press Releases

These are statements that Phoenix Copwatch has released to the media to inform the public about our position on various issues.

Copwatch in the Media

These are stories about Phoenix Copwatch from various media sources.

"Sheriff takes controversial sweeps to W. Valley" by Paul Giblin & Ryan Gabrielson, East Valley Tribune

August 13, 2008

"Citizen police observers with Phoenix Copwatch were on the scene to videotape any arrests.

"Sean Whitcomb, a volunteer with the program, said he hoped to film incidents of police brutality should they occur.

"'We're concerned that this is going to be another of Arpaio's racial profiling sweeps,' Whitcomb said. 'We want Arpaio to be aware that if he is going to be violating anyone's civil rights, we're going to be out here documenting it.'"

Full story available here.

"The Bird revels in Sheriff Joe's decline..." by The Bird, Phoenix New Times

July 3, 2008

"Instead of setting up a command center for the operation at the Mesa MCSO substation or at some other locale in town, MCSO deputies seemed as though they were the ones on the run, furtively eluding activists hell-bent on recording their every move, like those from the Phoenix-based Copwatch. According to Copwatch, the MCSO would set up a base of operations in a supermarket parking lot, for instance, only to wrap it up and move out to parts unknown once the ad hoc command post was discovered by roaming activists."

Full story available here.

"Volunteers aim to stop Arpaio's sweeps" by Daniel Gonzalez, Arizona Republic

May 1, 2008

"...Lydia Guzman, a spokeswoman for Respect/Respeto, a Latino advocacy group helping monitor the crime sweeps, said deputies stopped Latino motorists more often than Whites and questioned only Latinos about their citizenship.

"Guzman said the ACLU and Copwatch, a police watchdog group, have trained 100 volunteers to monitor the crime sweeps. During the sweeps, observers document the race and ethnicity of every driver and passenger stopped and whether they were detained or released.

"She said Latino motorists are being pulled over for violations as minor as low tire tread or improper illumination of license plates in order to root out illegal immigrants.

"'When folks get pulled over, it's for the lack of probable cause or for weak probable cause,' she said...."

Full story available here.

"Flash Point" by Jessica Hoffmann, ColorLines Magazine

March/April, 2008

“It’s unfortunate that that officer was killed,” says a Phoenix Copwatch member. “It shouldn’t have happened. But people have been looking for any kind of scapegoat to turn against the huge community of undocumented immigrants that we have in this country, [and this is] a convenient flash point.”

Full story available here.

"In the Line of Fire" by Kelly Kramer, Phoenix Magazine

March, 2007

"...'Our mission is to monitor the police as an independent volunteer organization.,' a Copwatch member says. 'It is also to provide critical civilian oversight of the police.'

"Randomly, Copwatch members patrol Valley neighborhoods, listening to police scanners and observing routine traffic stops and standard officer responses....

"Although... Copwatch has never captured an incident of police brutality on tape, he contends that the organization helps ensure that such incidents won't happen, saying that police 'stand up taller and smile broader' when they see that they're being videotaped."

This article is not available online.

"Small protest turnout puts Arpaio at loss for words - briefly" by William Hermann, The Arizona Republic

June 16, 2006

"Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio seemed nonplussed when the crowd he expected to protest his policy of arresting illegal immigrants turned out to be seven people. [In reality, it was closer to 15.]

"'Where's the big protest?' Arpaio said to folks holding signs at his downtown Phoenix offices. A Phoenix Copwatch spokesman said most members were working.

'But we're here to say you're misusing the law meant to go after immigrant smugglers,' a Copwatch member said.

"In August, Arizona legislators passed an anti-human-smuggling statute. Later, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said undocumented immigrants suspected of paying coyotes could be prosecuted as conspirators.

"'I have the right to enforce the law; you have the right to protest,' Arpaio said. 'I arrest more illegal immigrants each day than you have protesters.'"

"Students watch police on Mill Avenue" by Tim Taylor, The State Press

March 12, 2004

"March 15 is the International Day Against Police Brutality and Phoenix Copwatch wants ASU students to know their rights. Copwatch enlistees have been manning information tables at local punk and hip-hop shows in order to spread their "you're your rights" message to a young and lively ASU crowd, said Leila Sleiman, a Copwatch member and communication senior...."

Full story available here. (Free registration required to access story.)

"ASU students closely monitor police actions" by Jefferson Leatherman, The State Press

December 8, 2003

"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...."

Full story available here. (Free registration required to access story.)

"Monitoring police," The Arizona Daily Star

January 9, 2001

"A group of self-appointed police monitors has taken to the streets of Tempe and Phoenix in an intriguing show of civic responsibility. A recent story in The Arizona Republic story shows that Cop Watch, a spin-off from a radical group, is no rag-tag gathering of malcontents. Participating members must undergo several weeks of training. The businesslike approach prohibits drugs, drinking, weapons and those with an ax to grind. No cops or cop haters are allowed...."

Full story available here. (Full text must be purchased.)

"One year behind the camera" by Heather Villalobos and Brannon Lockrem, The New Abolitionist

May, 2000

"Phoenix Copwatch began quietly over two years ago when members of a local activist group, Ruckus, decided to do something to thwart police brutality and fight institutional whiteism in the Valley. After long hours spent researching the law, police procedures, and other Copwatches nationwide, Phoenix Copwatch was born."

Full story available here.

"Cruising for Cops" by Brian Smith, Phoenix New Times

December 2, 1999

"Copwatch, an earnest band of volunteers, aims to stamp out police brutality -- and vanquish institutional racism -- by aiming a camera."

Full story available here.