Mesa park rangers will now wear body cameras, undergo complete criminal background checks and receive rigorous training to ensure there’s no repeat of them going rogue on the job.
An eight-month-long outside and an internal Police investigations last year sustained allegations from a whistle blower that a handful of rangers used racial slurs, roughed up people and engaged in aggressive enforcement actions outside their authority by detaining and arresting people. The city cleaned house and put the unit, previously overseen by the Parks and Recreation Department, under the command of the Mesa Police Department.
“Accountability is really important to us,” said Chief Dan Butler, who last week gave an overview of the new ranger program to the media. “It’s at the core of what we do as a police department.
“Good is never good enough. We’re always trying to evaluate. We’re always trying to look at what our policies are, what our training is. The same thing with our park ranger program.”…