Phoenix police stepping up community relations efforts

PHOENIX - Phoenix police officers are better trained to keep you safe.
    
The department is undergoing training to help heal its relationship with citizens after one of its officers was involved in an altercation with Phoenix City Councilman Michael Johnson .

"That's certainly not a position I want to be in again," smiled Phoenix's Vice Mayor Michael Johnson.

Johnson can finally laugh when talking about such a serious altercation.

"It was an unfortunate situation that happened," he explained.

In March of 2010, Johnson accused Phoenix Police Officer Brian Authement of violating his civil rights after he was handcuffed and wrestled to the ground. The incident happened after Johnson awoke to find his neighbor's house engulfed in flames.

Johnson says he rushed outside, where he asked the Phoenix Fire Department battalion chief if he could talk to his neighbor to find out if he was all right and that he was granted permission to enter the fire scene. That's when Johnson says he was confronted by Authement and the alleged abuse of power took place.

After their altercation, both Johnson and Authement walked away with cuts and bruises and accused the other of assault.
      
"It helped shed some light on some things," Johnson said. "And helped add some validity to some of the issues that citizens had been complaining about."

Issues, according to Johnson, that include complaints of police brutality, harassment and race-related civil rights abuses within the Phoenix Police Department.     

"Our mission on the Phoenix Police Department is treat everyone with dignity and respect," explained Commander Mike Kurtenbach.
 
The Maryvale precinct commander oversees the department's community outreach programs. Following Vice Mayor Johnson's scuffle, a task force issued more than 30 recommendations on ways the department can better handle citizen complaints.

"We had a horrible incident back in 2010," Kurtenbach explained. "But we've learned from it internally and we're connecting better with the community."

Within the last year, Phoenix police officers have undergone additional community policing training and even hosted the first ever Spanish-speaking citizens police academy.
 
"This incident happened, we've learned from it, and we're moving forward," Kurtenbach said.

Johnson, a retired 20-year veteran with the Phoenix Police Department, is also moving on and has no bad blood for the force.

"It did foster a better atmosphere, a better relationship with the police department, and really more training within the department for sensitivity," Johnson said proudly.