Phoenix police chief finalists outline priorities on trust, recruitment and training at public forum

Three finalists to lead the Phoenix Police Department appeared at a public forum moderated by Vilka Miller on the evening before their scheduled meetings with city officials, laying out competing approaches to rebuilding trust, boosting recruitment and retention, and revising training and policy in the wake of a Department of Justice review.

The forum, hosted by the City of Phoenix, gave each candidate time to introduce themselves and answer a set of questions from staff and residents about priorities for the first year, officer wellness and morale, community relations, immigration enforcement, responses to homelessness and human trafficking, and steps to increase accountability.

Director Matt Giordano, executive director of the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training (Arizona POST), said his top priorities would be to re-engage department personnel and to review hiring and screening practices. "Our mantra now is how do we get to yes while it falls within the rules and the guidelines set forth in statute and rule," Giordano said, describing a desire to broaden Phoenix’s applicant pool while staying within legal standards. He emphasized internal messaging, advisory boards and ongoing outreach to rebuild relationships inside and outside the department.

Chief Martha Ramos, former police chief of DeKalb County, Georgia, said rebuilding trust both within the department and with Phoenix neighborhoods would be central to her approach. Ramos called for more in-person engagement — town halls, HOA meetings and school visits — and for training that includes community members and real-life speakers. "If there's something that we can do immediately that there's no cost ... we would do so just so that they know that we're gonna follow through," Ramos said, adding that officers need to feel heard and valued to improve retention.

Chief Malik Aziz, former chief of Prince George’s County (Md.) Police Department, prioritized officer mental health and wellness, training for supervisors, and staffing adjustments. Aziz described programs his department implemented — expanded ceremonies and public campaigns to recognize officers, large academy classes and outreach — and said he would pair policy review with transparent performance audits and community engagement. "Feeling valued in the workplace is one simple thing I can tell you to start with," Aziz said when asked about morale.

All three candidates said local police should generally not carry out immigration enforcement and should limit involvement to officer-safety situations or when assisting federal partners. "We don't do immigration enforcement," Giordano said, noting Phoenix has reminded the public it will not ask about legal status during routine policing.

The DOJ report and the city’s reforms that followed were a recurring topic. Candidates agreed the department should continue to evolve, keep policy and training aligned, and publicly explain changes. Ramos recommended more town halls and community participation in training; Giordano described fine-tuning quality assurance and body-worn camera review. Aziz said dismissing federal oversight does not erase underlying problems and advocated continuing reform with public dashboards and transparency.

Candidates described specific operational ideas: expanded crisis-intervention and co-responder models, more frequent implicit-bias and scenario-based training, and stronger outreach to marginalized communities (including LGBTQ+, Hispanic and African American residents). On homelessness and human trafficking, candidates urged coordination with NGOs, diversion programs and specialized units (for example, missing-persons units and crisis squads) rather than relying solely on arrest.

The forum included a period of introductions and a question-and-answer sequence with timed responses and concluded with each candidate delivering closing remarks about the legacy they would like to leave. The City of Phoenix plans to announce its new chief in July, the moderator said at the close of the event.