Task Force Finds Accusations of Civil Rights Violations by Phoenix City Police Officer Against Black Councilman, Michael Johnson Unfounded

Task force finds accusations of civil rights violations against Phoenix City Officer Brian Authement against black councilman Michael Johnson during minor scuffle unfounded.

A March 19th scuffle between Phoenix City Councilman Michael Johnson, who is black, and a police officer he accused of violating his civil rights, resulted in the creation of a task force to probe the issue of police misconduct. The problem for Johnson is that the investigations into the matter, conducted by internal affairs and special-investigations unit, found five of Johnson's six allegations of police misconduct were unfounded. The outcome of the probe will only result in a reprimand for Officer Brian Authement. In other words, Councilman Michael Johnson tried to flex his might, like Harvard University professor Louis Gates Jr., when confronted by a police officer. This was nothing more than a lowdown dirty cry of racism when there was none.

The issue began at a predawn house fire in Johnson's neighborhood earlier this year. An officer ordered him to leave a hazard area, and when Johnson refused, he was handcuffed and pushed to the ground. After the incident, the councilman called himself a victim. He said race factored into the officer's actions and blamed other officers for using similarly aggressive tactics with minority residents. The officer countered that he had been assaulted.

Based on Johnson's claims, some members of the 45-person task force expected the details of investigations into the March 19 handcuffing incident to detail more than a minor scuffle. But the report, released Monday, concluded the incident was just that. The investigations, conducted by internal affairs and special-investigations unit, found five of Johnson's six allegations of police misconduct were unfounded. Source: Arizona Republic

There are legitimate cases of racism in this country, but when you have elected officials screaming racism and police misconduct on every whim, we have a serious problem and those instances in which racism was perpetrated are often dismissed as "the little boy crying wolf." Councilman Johnson should be ashamed of himself and he owes the people of Phoenix and the police department an apology.

Photo credit: Michael Johnson, Phoenix.gov