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Future Tempe police advisory meetings will be public after first one was not

Tempe police
Posted at 9:44 PM, Oct 15, 2020
and last updated 2020-10-16 00:44:14-04

TEMPE, AZ — The City of Tempe is promising future meetings of its Public Safety Advisory Task Force will be live-streamed, so the community can attend.

The first meeting of the group, which includes 22 appointed citizens as well as police and other government officials, happened virtually Tuesday.

The public was barred from watching or participating in that first meeting as it happened. Preventing people from attending or otherwise accessing the real-time discussions and deliberations of a public body is a violation of the Arizona Open Meeting Law. Tempe's city attorney opined the first meeting was intended as an orientation, so she claimed it was not subject to the law.

A video of the first meeting was posted Wednesday night on a City of Tempe webpage. A city spokeswoman said future meetings will be live-streamed and will air on Tempe 11 television.

The task force will create a strategic plan to improve Tempe police accountability and community relations. The next meeting is October 28.

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