By
Marianne Green
Arizona Summer Wildcat
Panel concerned about excessive force, inadequate training
Members of a review panel concluded Thursday that police failed to protect the lives and property of Tucsonans during the Fourth Avenue riots the night of April 2.
The NCAA Tournament Response Panel, a group organized by Tucson Police Department Chief Richard Miranda, concluded that TPD failed to support its goal outlined in its Critical Incident Response Plan and Special Response Plan.
The panel, which met 13 times to review the actions of TPD during the riots following Arizona's loss to Duke in the NCAA Championship game, wrote a letter to Miranda stating the panel's conclusions.
"(The letter) summarizes the panel members' concerns about the situation, as a result of their review of it," said Robert Lehner, panel member and assistant chief of police.
The goal of TPD's plan was to "provide the necessary support to the community in order to facilitate the safe celebration of the tournament. To protect lives and property, and to return celebration areas to normalcy as quickly as practical," the Special Response Plan stated.
One concern was the effectiveness of the Special Response Plan.
"It does not appear to be fully up-to-date nor did the department maintain required training," the letter stated. "The (police) department should train for large-scale disturbances twice per year."
The review panel was designed to review TPD's policy and procedures for handling celebratory events, to determine if there was a problem with the procedures and to determine what improvements could be made, the letter stated.
The response plans, police reports, complaints and TPD's use of force policy were just a few of the materials the panel reviewed to come to their conclusion.
The panel noted that TPD should have been communicating with University of Arizona, neighborhood associations, merchants and property owners around North Fourth Avenue when planning for that night's events.
"This panel was concerned about the possible confusion and inappropriate use of weapons as a result of officers carrying several types of less-lethal weapons," the letter stated.
The letter also mentioned that TPD should investigate the training of every officer who used the munitions during the event and that other methods of crowd control should be used before the use of force.
"There were many individual complaints of excessive force filed," the letter stated.
The media should have been alerted as to the level and type of force that could be deployed before the event, the panel said.
"The media advertised the riot," the letter stated. "The media should be expected to act as a full partner with public safety in preventing this from a happening again."
The panel also said the university should also have a role in promoting safe celebrations.
"The university needs to be more of a partner in the planning process," said panel member Jaime Gutierrez, UA's assistant vice president for community relations.
The panel also made recommendations to bar owners on North Fourth Avenue, noting that alcohol could have been a factor in the violence.
"Bar owners should be encouraged to control alcohol consumption on their premises," the panel recommended. "One possible solution is to limit hours of operation and open the doors just before the televised event begins."
The bars have some responsibility towards its customers, but bar-goers should have known when to say they've had enough, Gutierrez said.
"The massive influx of intoxicated people to Fourth Avenue after the game, and the resulting tragedy, should give ample evidence that something must be done to prevent such a volatile gathering in the future," the letter said.
The large crowds that flooded North Fourth Avenue after the game ended proved that one dispersal order was not effective enough, the letter stated, and dispersal orders should have been announced at different locations throughout the crowd.
"A more effective public address system should have been implemented," the panel recommended. "The city should invest in a portable public address system."
The panel also suggested that a standing Fourth Avenue Area Plan should be developed in the event that another event such as this occurs in the future on the popular avenue.
"The (letter) gets turned over to an Internal Board of Inquiries, who will issue a very comprehensive report of its finding conclusions and decisions," Lehner said.
