Phoenix leaders launched a preemptive strike after the sudden resignation of the man charged with monitoring the police department when they told the U.S. Department of Justice he was a disgruntled employee who tried to overstep his boundaries.
Michael Bromwich, a contract attorney who has emerged as the city’s point person in a high-stakes effort to hold Justice Department monitors at bay, wrote in a letter to the department Tuesday that Roger Smith grew frustrated with his position. That frustration started after the state Legislature passed a law restricting his powers so he could merely monitor, rather than investigate, police misconduct cases, Bromwich wrote.
“Rather than exercise those substantial powers, Mr. Smith chafed against the restrictions and attempted to extend his mandate beyond any reasonable definitions of monitoring and analysis,” Bromwich wrote.
Bromwich’s letter added that city officials “have always” wanted OAT to exist independently from the police department but that the City Council could not control, nor violate, state law. City officials would “promptly” rehire a replacement who is “committed to its important mission,” Bromwich wrote.