Phoenix police roll out First Amendment facilitation policy and detail protest response tiers, staffing

The Phoenix Police Department updated the Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee on March 5 about a new First Amendment facilitation and management policy and its protest response structure, saying the public-facing policy will be published in April 2025.

The department presented a three-tier model for demonstrations and civil disturbances and outlined staffing for its Public Safety Response Team (PSRT), saying the core downtown operations unit includes 61 full-time members and about 530 collateral-duty officers across precincts. Chief Orrender said the department used national best practices and Department of Justice recommendations while drafting the policy and solicited more than 60 public comments during development.

The new policy, identified in the presentation as Operations Order 1.1, is intended to provide guidance on permitting, coordination among city departments and the department’s responsibilities for both planned and unplanned First Amendment events. “The first amendment facilitation management policy will also provide the public with information on how to obtain any necessary permits through the various city departments such as streets, fire, parks, zoning, and the water department,” the department said during the presentation.

Why it matters: The policy sets expectations for protest organizers and the public about how the city plans for demonstrations and how public safety resources will be used. Subcommittee members pressed department leaders on training, how the department balances traffic and speech rights, and how the city labels and communicates the role of the unit that organizes protest responses.

Details and context

- Response tiers: The department described a tiered approach. Tier 1 is a Community Response Squad (CRS) that meets with organizers and coordinates planning; Tier 2 brings uniformed patrol and motorcycle officers primarily for traffic control; Tier 3 involves the PSRT staging nearby and the initiation of a Tactical Operations Center (TOC) and Homeland Defense Bureau monitoring.

- Staffing and scale: The presentation said the TOC and PSRT model requires roughly 286 officers and supervisors to staff an event when fully activated. In 2024 the department reported it oversaw 313 events citywide (218 demonstrations, 55 labor actions and 40 election-related events); only 10 were deemed Tier 3 and there were 28 coordinated arrests in 2024, the department said.

- Tools and limits: The department listed three primary tools for crowd management: verbal communication (including amplified devices), distraction devices (loud-noise devices used to separate individuals committing crimes from peaceful demonstrators) and, as a last resort, less-lethal munitions (for area denial, dispersal and direct impact). Presenters said Phoenix Fire is staged nearby to provide medical evaluation when less-lethal methods are used.

- Coordination with fire: Assistant Chief Justin Alexander of the Phoenix Fire Department described a unified-command approach using the National Incident Management System framework. He said police and fire co-locate command staff in the TOC during large events, assign threat-liaison officers and medical response personnel outside security zones, and use tactical radio operators to place geofences in computer-aided dispatch to route calls appropriately.

- Unplanned events and decision-making: The department said unplanned events — those with little to no advance notice — require rapid decisions with limited information. Presenters said field commanders or duty commanders may authorize life-saving uses of force or crowd-control tools during such events and then report up the chain as soon as practical; planned deployments of gas or other munitions are routed through the chief.

Subcommittee questions and concerns

Vice Mayor O'Brien asked whether it is legal to protest in the street and block traffic; the department replied that blocking traffic requires permits and street closures, but that officers often weigh roadway occupancy against First Amendment protections and may treat such incidents as civil disturbances while prioritizing safety.

Councilwoman Guardado asked whether the bureau name “Homeland Defense Bureau” deters community organizers from coordinating with the city; department representatives said they would consider how best to communicate the bureau’s purpose and could discuss a name change or other outreach methods.

Ending: Department leaders said the policy will go live in April 2025 and that they would provide further detail on outreach, training and public education materials to encourage organizers to plan events. The subcommittee said it expects ongoing updates and to review after-action reports when significant deployments occur.