Tempe will honor the nearly 3,000 victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks at the 13th annual Healing Field tribute. The public is invited to view the display of American Flags representing the victims of that terrible day. A moving display of patriotism and unity, Healing Field is a free event presented by the Exchange Club of Tempe and The City of Tempe. HEALING FIELD CEREMONIES & EVENTS: Saturday, Sept. 8 through Tuesday, Sept. 11 from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.  Monday, Sept. 10, 6-8 p.m. - Freedom Concert  Tuesday, Sept. 11: Memorial ...

Trooper Tyler Edenhofer was shot and killed after he and several officers responded to reports of a subject throwing objects at vehicles on I-10, near Avondale Boulevard in Goodyear, at approximately 10:00 pm. Three Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers and two Goodyear Police Department officers responded to the scene and attempted to take the subject into custody. The man resisted arrested and engaged the officers in a struggle that lasted several minutes. The subject was able to obtain one of the officers' duty weapons during the stru...

Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, testified today before the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations at a hearing entitled: “Challenges Facing Law Enforcement in the 21st Century.” “I want to thank this Subcommittee for its recent work on bipartisan bills during this week, which is National Police Week,” Canterbury said. “The law enforcement profession faces more challenges today and we’re in need of more support if we’re to succeed at keeping our streets and communities...

Sgt. Ivan Gunter leads a special team of police officers called the Foxtrots in the Southwest Patrol Division of the Dallas Police Department. (Cooper Neill for The Washington Post) DALLAS — Sgt. Ivan Gunter climbed the stairs, sweating beneath a ceramic-plated tactical vest, his finger resting beside the trigger of his 9mm handgun. He could hear the suspect’s muffled voice above, between thunderous cracks of gunfire. Gunter, 49, led a specially trained team of nine Dallas police officers called the Foxtrots. In the July twilight, beneath the c...

Bill could be signed into law before the end of National Police Week Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, welcomed news that S. 419, the “Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) Improvements Act,” passed the House yesterday by a voice vote under a suspension of the rules just one day after the Senate approved the same bill by unanimous consent. “The Public Safety Officers’ Benefits program is very important to law enforcement and the wider public safety community,” Canterbury said. “It gives our members peace o...

Click above  to listen to the interview with National FOP President, Chuck Canterbury: A century ago, two police officers from Pittsburgh decided they wanted better working conditions. They would go on to form the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), which continues to advocate for police officers across the country. This weekend, the FOP National Conference will be back in the city where the organization began, something that happens every quarter century, according to National FOP President Chuck Canterbury. “We have a bid system four y...

Department of Public Safety Officer Keith Anderson sighed deeply. He knew he was caught. “I was a worried someone like you would find out about this,” he told me “I didn’t want that to happen.” I don’t blame him. He was about to be publicly outed as the law enforcement officer who took away an old man’s driver’s license, his automobile and his last shred of personal freedom, then turned around and gave the old man … a family. “I know things like this sometimes go public,” Anderson said. “But I’ve got to say, the last thing I expected was to be ...

On February 14, 2015, John Ortolano, President and National Trustee for the Arizona State Lodge, gave testimony to the “Training and Education” Listening Session of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing on ” In-Service Training.” You can read his testimony here. On December 18, 2014, President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order establishing the Task Force on 21st Century Policing. The Task Force seeks to identify best practices and make recommendations to the President on how policing practices can promote effective crime redu...

GLENDALE, AZ (CBS5) – It’s never been easy to be a police officer and in the past few months, it’s seemed even more challenging. That’s why it’s refreshing to see officers making a difference by going above and beyond the call of duty to change lives. “I was in an abusive relationship for 10 years, finally got out of the situation,” Jennifer Montierth said. She and her kids ended up at 59th Avenue and Northern, panhandling after getting evicted. One day, a Glendale police officer pulled up. “I was scared, I thought I was going to get a ticket o...

The Arizona Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is comprised of investigators from City, County, State, and Federal Agencies. Special emphasis is placed on locating, prosecuting, and imprisoning people who intentionally exploit children. Lead by the Phoenix Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, the AZICAC Task Force diligently pushes to fulfill this goal with highly trained and professional investigators and cutting edge forensics and technology. The Arizona Fraternal Order of Police supports adequate state funding ...

Our last report noted that, while another status conference in this matter had been set for January 22, 2018, we expected to receive a proposed form of judgment from Ben Cooper for review. In early November, we did receive a proposed form of judgment and over the next few weeks, several proposed forms of judgment were circulated among all counsel. After a number of discussions and email exchanges, all counsel agreed upon a final proposed Form of Judgment. The parties filed a Stipulation agreeing to entry of the simultaneously filed  propos...

FOP Associate Merchandise What Is the Fraternal Order of Police Associates (FOPA)? The FOPA is a civilian affiliate of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). Our members are friends and families of law enforcement Officers, responsible and respected business persons, professional men and women, and citizens from all walks of life—people willing to devote a portion of their time and efforts toward assisting the various law enforcement agencies of our communities, states and nation. The FOPA is part of a national organization known as the Grand Lod...

Simple Crime Prevention: Anyone can be a target of even the simplest of crimes. Here are some tips to keep you safe in your everyday life: -Always be aware of your surroundings and who is around you. Take time to observe what people are wearing and what they look like in case you have to describe it later to someone. -Do not leave any items in your car that may be seen as valuable to someone else. Do not give thieves the opportunity. Put valuables in the trunk or cover them so they are not visible from the outside. -Do not leave packages on you...

Though there have been many scares about what can happen to children or teenagers on the internet, adults should be safe as well. There is no limit to the amount of risk adults come in contact with such as sexual predators, criminals who are seeking out your personal information on social networking sites, buying habits, frequently used sites, and many others. Here are some tips to help prevent you from being a target: Do not share things such as email addresses, usernames and passwords. Do not use usernames or passwords that include your name,...

Good news for all retired members of the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System! As you may recall, several members of the Fraternal Order of Police asked the membership to financially support their challenge of the unconstitutional changes to your retirement benefits. Thousands of FOP members voluntarily stepped up to write checks to help defray the legal costs.  All litigation decisions were made by the individual plaintiffs and all legal costs were paid by donations to a separate fund. As a result of the Arizona Supreme Court de...

Our firm has had the privilege of representing law enforcement officers and their families and friends for the past eighteen years. Part of what we do is represent people who have been injured and are legally entitled to financial compensation for their medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. In the past 10 years, our firm has successfully litigated hundreds of personal injury cases and we have obtained settlements for our clients totaling over $13 million dollars. Also, because of our experience in representing law enforcement offi...

A state court judge has barred the city of San Jose, California, from imposing voter-approved pension cuts on current municipal workers in a ruling with implications for cash-strapped local governments across the United States. As public employee unions and many U.S. cities lock horns over cuts in retirement costs blamed for municipal budget crises, Superior Court Judge Patricia Lucas ruled that a ballot initiative forcing workers to contribute more to their pensions was invalid. In her “tentative” ruling, dated from last week but publicly rele...

Did you know that your brain is 80% water? Or that Friday, January 4, 2013 was National Trivia Day? Or that August is the most dangerous month to drive? From time to time, we come across random facts that deserve sharing. Number 3 above is one of those. Over the years of representing police officers and their family members injured in auto accidents, we’ve noticed an uptick in auto accidents in the late Summer. It turns out, it wasn’t our imaginations. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration records going back to 1994, Augus...

U.S. Supreme Court Rulings Favor Employers On June 24, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two decisions toughening standards for workers bringing discrimination or retaliation claims involving workplace harassment. In one case, Vance v. Ball State University, et al., a catering worker sued Ball State alleging she had endured racial harassment by a woman she characterized as a supervisor. The University claimed the alleged harasser was not a supervisor. This distinction is important because an employer’s liability for workplace harassment depen...

Monthly AZ POST meeting for June, 2013. Three members represented by the FOP attorney as final action cases. Over the past few months, we worked out mutually agreeable Consent Agreements with POST for each of these cases. However, as you know, AZPOST does not have to adopt the Consent Agreements and can reject and increase the penalties. Fortunately, all three of the Consent Agreements were adopted as written. The only revision POST made on one of them was to actually reduce one of the suspensions from 6 months to 4 months – this case involved ...

Our attorneys have handled many significant cases and practiced before numerous tribunals including the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the United States District Courts, The United States Court of Claims, the Arizona Supreme Court, the Arizona Court of Appeals, and Superior Courts throughout the State. Click on the links below to learn more about a few of the cases we’ve handled. Lake v. City of Phoenix : Determining that computer generated “metadata” is a public record subject to dis...

Two Things to Carry in Arizona Everyone who lives in Arizona should “carry” two things. Water and UIM/UM insurance coverage. With either of these, it is better to have them and never need them than need them and not have them. Water requires no explanation, but UIM/UM coverages do. What does UIM (underinsured motorist) coverage and UM (uninsured motorist) mean? UIM, or underinsured motorist coverage, protects you or passengers in your vehicle for bodily injury you or your passengers sustain in an accident involving a driver who has insufficient...