Mesa Police Department (Arizona)

The Mesa Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency in Mesa, Arizona.[1] The department employs 1,212 law enforcement officers.[2] The department is headed by Chief Ken Cost.[3]

Mesa Police Department
N507MP
Mesa Police Department Helicopter N507MP and pilot
Aircraft flown
HelicopterEngine: ROLLS-ROYC 250-C30 (Turbo-shaft) Horsepower: 650
1884 Mesa Territorial Jail Cell.

In 2016, a Mesa Police Officer, Philip Brailsford, shot Daniel Shaver five times and killed him in the hallway of a La Quinta Inn & Suites hotel in Mesa, Arizona while Shaver was on his hands and knees and following confusing and contradictory orders by the police. Brailsford was charged with second-degree murder and a lesser manslaughter charge and found not guilty by a jury.[4] Prosecutors argued the shooting was unjustified.[5] Brailsford was reinstated in August 2018. Over a month later, he was granted retirement on medical grounds, as well as a pension of $2,500 per month.[6]

History

Mesa seems to have had a law enforcement agency by 1913, when the town marshal, Smith Peterson was murdered in November of that year. Since then, two other Mesa policemen have died in the line of duty, both in traffic accidents.[7]

In 1991, local newspapers reported on a wide-ranging sex scandal in the department. Various police officers seem to have been involved in the molestation of children and using their wives as bait to blackmail other members of the department.[8]

Organization
  • Airport Unit operates at Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport[9]
  • Aviation Support Unit with two fixed-wing and three rotary-wing aircraft. The unit was established in 1986 and is based at Falcon Field Airport.[10][11]
  • Criminal Investigations Division[12]
  • SWAT/Tactical which was established in 1975.[13]

Stations

The department operates four stations;[14]

  • Headquarters 130 North Robson
  • Central 120 North Robson
  • Fiesta 1010 West Grove Avenue
  • Red Mountain 4333 East University Drive
  • Superstition 2430 South Ellsworth Road

References
  1. "Mesa Police Department". Mesa, Arizona. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  2. "Police Employee Staffing Sworn and Civilian". Mesa, Arizona. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  3. "Police Chief Ramon Batista". Mesa, Arizona. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  4. Friedersdorf, Conor. "Footage of a Police Shooting That Jurors Chose Not to Punish". The Atlantic. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  5. Closing arguments set to begin in trial of former Mesa officer accused of murder, AZ Family.
  6. Burkitt, Bree; Garcia, Uriel (July 11, 2019). "Fired ex-Mesa police Officer Philip Brailsford rehired to help him get a public-safety pension". Arizona Republic. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  7. "Mesa's Fallen Officers". Mesa, Arizona. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  8. Rubin, Paul (6 November 1991). "The Scandal at the Mesa Police Department". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  9. "Airport Unit (Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport)". Mesa, Arizona. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  10. Kimball, Darryl. "Arizona Mesa Police Department". Police Helicopter Pilot. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  11. "Aviation Support Unit". Mesa, Arizona. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  12. "Criminal Investigation Division". Mesa, Arizona. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  13. "SWAT/Tactical". Mesa, Arizona. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  14. "Phone Numbers & Org Chart". Mesa Arizona. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
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