The detention of Dion Rabouin, an award-winning finance reporter, by Phoenix police Officer Caleb Zimmerman drew a resounding outcry when video of the incident went viral last year. Rabouin, who is Black, was conducting interviews for a story outside a Chase bank branch.
"The investigation found the allegations of unlawful detention, detention based on race and use of excessive force were unfounded," the police department said in a written statement on Wednesday.
But the department did acknowledge that the officer's decision to identify Rabouin by taking a wallet out of his pocket after detaining him violated its search and seizure policy, although that was not an element of the journalist's initial complaint.
“While a written reprimand [of Zimmerman] would be appropriate for the policy violation noted, the lack of clarity in policy, and the fact that the incident did not involve malicious intent, repeat offenses, or a reckless or willful disregard for policy, the decision has been made to require the officer to receive training,” the agency said.
Rabouin referred questions about the announcement to the Wall Street Journal.
"The video speaks for itself. The Phoenix Police Department handcuffed our journalist and placed him in the back of a police vehicle simply for reporting," wrote Caitlyn Reuss, the WSJ's communications manager, in a statement to Phoenix New Times.
"That is outrageous, no matter the outcome of the internal investigation," the statement continued.
Phoenix police detention of journalist drew outcry
On Nov. 23, 2022, Rabouin was visiting family in Phoenix and decided to conduct interviews for a Wall Street Journal story outside a Chase Bank at Cactus Road and Tatum Boulevard. He was standing on the sidewalk outside the bank's entrance when a bank employee called the police. The employee said in the 911 call that Rabouin "doesn't look like he's a reporter."When Zimmerman arrived and spoke with bank staff, they told him that Rabouin refused to leave when asked, according to bodycam footage released by Phoenix police. But when the officer approached him, Rabouin said the bank had never asked him to leave and then offered to do so. "I will walk away voluntarily," he told Zimmerman. He also again identified himself as a journalist.
Instead of letting him leave, Zimmerman handcuffed Rabouin and began walking him to his patrol car.
A bystander, Katelyn Parady, began recording the incident as Zimmerman handcuffed Rabouin, telling the officer repeatedly that the journalist had done "nothing wrong." Zimmerman threatened her with arrest as she continued filming the interaction.
Parady filed a complaint with the Phoenix police's internal affairs unit. Her complaint was closed when the agency said that it found “no wrongdoing,” she told ABC15 in January.
But a video of Zimmerman detaining Rabouin went viral, prompting apologies from Mayor Kate Gallego and Chase bank officials, as well as demands for answers by the Wall Street Journal. Phoenix police then reconsidered the results of its initial investigation.
The agency began re-examining Rabouin's complaints against Zimmerman, which included "unlawful detention, detention based on race and use of excessive force."
Investigators determined the allegations of wrongdoing to be unfounded, except for the separate search and seizure violation, which was not initially part of the investigation, according to the agency's statement on Wednesday.
Phoenix police said it made some policy revisions in light of the investigation in order to "clarify the differences in procedure when detaining subjects for trespassing and arresting subjects for trespassing."
Those revisions, according to records of Phoenix police policy, include a new note in its policy on trespassing and burglary: "If the owner/agent does not want to prosecute and the subject agrees to leave when the officer makes contact, officers will not detain the subject solely for the purpose of gathering the subject’s identifying information to document the subject was 'trespassed.'"
The change would make Rabouin's detention a policy violation if it happened again.
In January, Rabouin tweeted that it was hardly the first time he faced police harassment.
"This time, the bank that called the police on me has called to apologize, and the mayor of the city where it happened has emailed me personally to apologize and assure me that a full investigation is happening," he said. "But I've been dealing with this my entire life."
