Mark Spencer

Illegal immigrants in Phoenix police shooting had run-ins with the law last year

David Spade Donates $100,000 to Phoenix Police Department for New Rifles

David Spade doesn't forget his roots. The former Valley resident cut a $100,000 check today to fund the purchase of new rifles for the Phoenix Police Department. In a news release, (reprinted below), police say Spade "had been made aware" of a program -- covered in a previous Valley ... More >>

Police State: How the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency Turned All Local Authorities Into La Migra

David Spade doesn't forget his roots. The former Valley resident cut a $100,000 check today to fund the purchase of new rifles for the Phoenix Police Department. In a news release, (reprinted below), police say Spade "had been made aware" of a program -- covered in a previous Valley ... More >>

The Bird revels in Sheriff Joe's decline, slams Mark Spencer's false hysteria, and explains why "illegals" ain't criminals

David Spade doesn't forget his roots. The former Valley resident cut a $100,000 check today to fund the purchase of new rifles for the Phoenix Police Department. In a news release, (reprinted below), police say Spade "had been made aware" of a program -- covered in a previous Valley ... More >>

Bombs Away

A supervisory cop's bust for driving a giant police truck to golf games sparks claims of unequal discipline in the Phoenix PD

Phoenix Cops Aren't Asking Arrestees About Immigration Status, Review Shows

The Arizona Republic's immigration reporter, Daniel Gonzalez, came across some interesting stats today from the Phoenix Police Department's Professional Standards Bureau that show cops aren't asking arrestees about immigration status, like they're supposed to. Police put the rule into effect in May ... More >>

Phoenix Police Union Members Turned Away by City Council on Issue of Chief Jack Harris

  Souring relations between Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris (pictured at right) and members of the department's union were the source of a squabble at a City Council committee meeting today. As KTAR news (92.3 FM) reports, union president Mark Spencer and other union members want ... More >>

Behind BadPhoenixCops.com: The Blogger Who Took on the Phoenix PD — and the Homicide Detective Who Might Be His Best Source

  Souring relations between Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris (pictured at right) and members of the department's union were the source of a squabble at a City Council committee meeting today. As KTAR news (92.3 FM) reports, union president Mark Spencer and other union members want ... More >>

Phoenix Law Enforcement Association Prez Mark Spencer’s Latest Outrage, and Arpaio Surreptitiously Tapes the Feds During Latest Sweep

  Souring relations between Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris (pictured at right) and members of the department's union were the source of a squabble at a City Council committee meeting today. As KTAR news (92.3 FM) reports, union president Mark Spencer and other union members want ... More >>

Mark Spencer, PLEA President, and the Dark Spots on His Career Record

from PLEASpencer has his own agenda when it comes to the issue of immigration ​In response to my request for a comment from the Phoenix Police Department concerning Phoenix Law Enforcement Association President Mark Spencer's challenge to the current Operations Order 1.4.3, PPD spokesman Jame ... More >>

July 31 In Blogs: Mark Spencer, New Monsters of Folk, President Obama, and Jim Miller

​In the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries: Feathered Bastard: Mark Spencer, PLEA President, and the Dark Spots on His Career Record Up on the Sun: 10 Thin ... More >>

If John Shadegg Wants People to Take Him Seriously, He Should Give Drug Companies Their Money Back

​In the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries: Feathered Bastard: Mark Spencer, PLEA President, and the Dark Spots on His Career Record Up on the Sun: 10 Thin ... More >>

Want to Do Drugs? Go to Mexico: Now Small Amounts are Legal!

​Parents will be delighted to learn that their college students now have a legal place to experiment with hard drugs. And it's just across the border. No Joke. Yesterday, Mexican President Felipe Calderon signed a controversial bill into law that will decriminalize the possession of small a ... More >>

Lawsuit by Ex-Phoenix Cop Whose Case Became Cause Celebre For Police Union Shot Down in Court

In September, 2007, former Phoenix police Officer Mark Wilcox and his wife sued the department and Sergeant Kathy Johnson. Among other things, the couple claimed that his own department, especially Sergeant Johnson, had violated his civil rights and defamed him  in the afterma ... More >>

Nativist Violence: "Angry Jim" and the Hatred and Bigotry He Represents

Why do local nativists feel emboldened and increasingly willing to express themselves violently? Well, it's no coincidence that most local nativists are rabid supporters of Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Arpaio's tactics and rhetoric play to the nativists. He green-lights their hatred of Mexican immigrants, an ... More >>

Going Rogue: An Obsessive Phoenix Patrol Cop Tried to Nail the Wrong Guy in the Baseline Killer Case

Why do local nativists feel emboldened and increasingly willing to express themselves violently? Well, it's no coincidence that most local nativists are rabid supporters of Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Arpaio's tactics and rhetoric play to the nativists. He green-lights their hatred of Mexican immigrants, an ... More >>

Arizona Democratic Party and Ruben Gallego Take Money from Nativist Mark Spencer's PLEA

from gallegoforarizona.comReally, Ruben, it's not worth the $410...There's absolutely no doubt that Mark Spencer, head of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, has turned the police union into an anti-immigration juggernaut. Spencer has been a tireless backer of state Senator (and neo-N ... More >>

Michael Johnson Smackdown: Phoenix City Council Meeting Going On About Cop's Manhandling of Black Councilman

We broke the news last Friday of Phoenix city Councilman Michael Johnson's unfortunate run-in with a Phoenix police officer at the scene of a residential fire in his neighborhood.   ​ It's been the talk of the town, and the Phoenix City Council is meeting at this hour in closed sess ... More >>

Jew Roundup: They're Pouring Over the Canadian Border to Flood Graduate Schools and Bank Parking Lots. Legislation from State Senator Russell Pearce Aims to Make Them Rue the Day They Ever Entered Arizona

We broke the news last Friday of Phoenix city Councilman Michael Johnson's unfortunate run-in with a Phoenix police officer at the scene of a residential fire in his neighborhood.   ​ It's been the talk of the town, and the Phoenix City Council is meeting at this hour in closed sess ... More >>

Russell Pearce's Police State Bill Passes MAPS Committee (Again); All Persons in Arizona Could Be Required To Prove They Are Not Illegal

www.PhotosByJoseMunoz.comState Sen. Russell Pearce, at the Capitol today...State Senator Russell Pearce's police state bill, SB 1070, passed the House Military Affairs and Public Safety committee again today, after a three hour session of testimony, with state Representative Kyrsten Sinema, the&nbs ... More >>

Jan Brewer Signs Russell Pearce's Bigot Bill SB 1070 Into Law, Falsely Claims It Will Not Lead To Racial Profiling

courtesy of PhotosByJoseMunoz.com Governor Brewer signs SB 1070 into lawIn an act of gross political cowardice, Governor Jan Brewer signed state Senator Russell Pearce's police state/bigot bill SB 1070 into law, characterizing it as "another step forward in protecting the state of Arizona."With a bo ... More >>

Neo-Nazis at the "Buycott," and Why National Socialist Harry Hughes Is (Sadly) Right

JustAnotherDayblogNeo-Nazis Scott Hume (left) and Harry Hughes at Saturday's pro-SB1070 rallyI mentioned in my roundup of Saturday's big anti-SB 1070 march that local neo-Nazi Harry Hughes attended the pro-SB 1070 "buycott" rally at Tempe's Diablo Stadium later that same say. Along for the ride was ... More >>

Terry Goddard, Arizona's Spineless Attorney General, Betrays His Base of Supporters

JustAnotherDayblogNeo-Nazis Scott Hume (left) and Harry Hughes at Saturday's pro-SB1070 rallyI mentioned in my roundup of Saturday's big anti-SB 1070 march that local neo-Nazi Harry Hughes attended the pro-SB 1070 "buycott" rally at Tempe's Diablo Stadium later that same say. Along for the ride was ... More >>

Phoenix PD Used to Smell Sweet Compared to the MCSO -- Now They Both Stink

JustAnotherDayblogNeo-Nazis Scott Hume (left) and Harry Hughes at Saturday's pro-SB1070 rallyI mentioned in my roundup of Saturday's big anti-SB 1070 march that local neo-Nazi Harry Hughes attended the pro-SB 1070 "buycott" rally at Tempe's Diablo Stadium later that same say. Along for the ride was ... More >>

Feedback from the Issue of Thursday, December 2, 2010

JustAnotherDayblogNeo-Nazis Scott Hume (left) and Harry Hughes at Saturday's pro-SB1070 rallyI mentioned in my roundup of Saturday's big anti-SB 1070 march that local neo-Nazi Harry Hughes attended the pro-SB 1070 "buycott" rally at Tempe's Diablo Stadium later that same say. Along for the ride was ... More >>

Russell Pearce Shakes Down Scores of Lobbyists, Legally

Pearce's big money-grab, and it's all legalTo cop a line from the Notorious B.I.G., "Gimme the loot! Gimme the loot!"That's what Republican state Senate President-elect Russell Pearce might as well be saying with a recent e-mail announcing a fundraiser on January 7, 2011, just three days before Ariz ... More >>

Richard Mellon Scaife's Cash Pays For Judicial Watch's Ideologically Motivated Lawsuits

Pearce's big money-grab, and it's all legalTo cop a line from the Notorious B.I.G., "Gimme the loot! Gimme the loot!"That's what Republican state Senate President-elect Russell Pearce might as well be saying with a recent e-mail announcing a fundraiser on January 7, 2011, just three days before Ariz ... More >>

Russell Pearce Fundraiser To Be Protested Friday

Pearce builds his own trough and goes hog-wild FridayAnti-Russell Pearce activists are set to protest both a Friday, January 7 fundraiser for the state Senate President-elect, and the opening day of business for the Arizona Legislature on Monday, January 10, when Pearce will take his seat as the Dar ... More >>

New Times' Review of Phoenix Kidnapping Stats Reveals Most Not Linked to Border-Related Crimes as Phoenix Officials Reported

​Phoenix police reported that there were 358 kidnapping calls in their community during 2008, and that a majority of them were linked to drug and human smuggling across the Arizona-Mexico border. In recent months, Phoenix police union leaders have raised questions about the veracity of those stat ... More >>

Phoenix Cops May Have Inflated Kidnapping Stats to Get Federal Bucks

​Phoenix police reported that there were 358 kidnapping calls in their community during 2008, and that a majority of them were linked to drug and human smuggling across the Arizona-Mexico border. In recent months, Phoenix police union leaders have raised questions about the veracity of those stat ... More >>

Mark Spencer's Spin Machine, and KPHO's Flubbed Segment on Police Supes

KPHOThe "him" in "Fire him" is Mark Spencer, not Jack Harris... I have praised Channel 5/KPHO's reporters and producers in the past. I consider them colleagues. Not necessarily drinking-buddies. (Yet.) But I have fun chatting with them when I see them in the midst of the media scrum.Still, ... More >>

Feb 22. In Blogs: Mark Spencer, The Forever Lazy, Sour Soul, National Margarita Day, and Faleh Almaleki

​​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

KPHO Cops the PLEA Line on a Report Swiped From Another Police Union, Flubbing the Story in the Process

​​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

Jack Harris No Longer Overseeing Phoenix PD; Acting Police Chief Joe Yahner Taking Over Day-to-Day Operations in Wake of Kidnapping-Stats Scandal (Updated)

Public Safety Manager Jack Harris (left) stripped of his police chief duties, with Assistant City Manager Ed Zuercher.​Public Safety Manager Jack Harris  retains some of his duties as police chief, but Executive Assistant Police Chief Joe Yahner becomes Acting Police Chief in ... More >>

Is KPHO in Mark Spencer's Pocket?

Public Safety Manager Jack Harris (left) stripped of his police chief duties, with Assistant City Manager Ed Zuercher.​Public Safety Manager Jack Harris  retains some of his duties as police chief, but Executive Assistant Police Chief Joe Yahner becomes Acting Police Chief in ... More >>

Mark Spencer's PLEA Backstabs Own Members

Mark Spencer, betraying PLEA members one endorsement at a timeWhat would you call law enforcement union leaders who claim to battle for their members' public benefits during tough economic times, while handing out endorsements to lawmakers hell-bent on wiping out those benefits for good?Hypocrites? ... More >>

March 10 In Blogs: Mark Spencer, Brides of March, Lady Gaga, Food Trucks, and Gabrielle Giffords

​​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

Mark Spencer Lawyers-Up, Clams Up on Virgillo Smear

azplea.comSpencer: hear no evil, see no evil, and speak not to County Attorney investigators The Maricopa County Attorney's Office's investigation of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association and its president Mark Spencer, the subject of this week's Bird column, produced a nice doorstop pile of docum ... More >>

March 11 In Blogs: Mark Spencer, Shepard Fairey, Spider Man, Hana Japanese Eatery, and Hugh Hallman

​​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

An Outside Panel Will Probe Whether the PPD's Numbers on Kidnappings Were Cooked

​​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

Richard Chrisman, Killer Phoenix Cop, Canned

Chrisman:Scouring the want ads tonight?Phoenix Police Officer Richard Chrisman, who faces a second-degree murder charge in the October 5 shooting death of South Phoenix resident Daniel Rodriguez, was terminated today by the City of Phoenix. Phoenix Police Department spokesman Sergeant Tommy Thompson ... More >>

Richard Chrisman, Killer Cop, Feted by PLEA at BBQ/Fundraiser this Thursday

azplea.comNo shame in PLEA's game, as you can see​I have to wonder if the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association would be so supportive of fired killer-cop Richard Chrisman if his victim had been white instead of Latino.PLEA has gone all out to back Chrisman, who has kept his lips zipped about the O ... More >>

Richard Chrisman BBQ at PLEA Offices Protested

Protesters berate cops coming out of the Chrisman BBQCops and other attendees had to run the gauntlet today at a BBQ/fundraiser for fired, killer-cop Richard Chrisman, held in an underground enclosure at the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, the powerful police union that reps rank and file Phoen ... More >>

Under Mark Spencer's Leadership, the Phoenix Police Union Has Become an Anti-Immigrant Juggernaut, to the Detriment of Its Members

Protesters berate cops coming out of the Chrisman BBQCops and other attendees had to run the gauntlet today at a BBQ/fundraiser for fired, killer-cop Richard Chrisman, held in an underground enclosure at the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, the powerful police union that reps rank and file Phoen ... More >>

Mark Spencer's PLEA Supported Kidnapping Stats

From PLEA's RECAP newsletter, dated June 2008As I've pointed out in my cover story this week on Phoenix Law Enforcement Association president Mark Spencer and his sleazy ways, PLEA swallowed the Phoenix Police Department's controversial kidnapping stats whole hog at one time. Long before they used ... More >>

April 28 In Blogs: Mark Spencer, Spanish Fly Mexican Beach Club, Jet Life, Gourmutt, and Mark Spinks

​​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

Feedback from the Issue of Thursday, May 12, 2011

​​​In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries:

Russell Pearce Begs for Corporate Funds, Uses Office on Behalf of Anti-Recall Effort

Pearce, seeking corporate dough to save his hideState Senate President Russell Pearce and the Republican-controlled Legislature couldn't be bothered today to change one word in state law to extend unemployment benefits to 15,000 out-of-work Arizonans, but Pearce has had time to compose a lengthy, fi ... More >>

Mark Spencer Coasting at PLEA Till He Retires in February

Spencer, on easy street at PLEA till retirement...If you're wondering why you haven't seen media hog Mark Spencer flapping his lips on TV in a while, it's because Spencer is no longer president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, the union that represents rank and file Phoenix cops.His ... More >>

Can Kyrsten Sinema Win in Congressional District 9?

Spencer, on easy street at PLEA till retirement...If you're wondering why you haven't seen media hog Mark Spencer flapping his lips on TV in a while, it's because Spencer is no longer president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, the union that represents rank and file Phoenix cops.His ... More >>