Latest news with #JerodMacDonald-Evoy
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Arizona police departments say ICE is not using their license plate scanners
An automated license plate reader sits inside a fake cactus at a Paradise Valley roundabout. Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy | Arizona Mirror A license plate scanning tool that is marketed to be used to combat car theft or find missing people is now being used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some Arizona police departments have access to the technology, but say that ICE hasn't requested to use it. First reported by 404 Media, local police around the country have been using an AI-powered automatic license plate reader system as part of ICE investigations, essentially giving the agency access to a tool for which they don't have a federal contract. The automatic license plate reader, or ALPR for short, camera systems gather data from license plates that can then be flagged or saved to databases. ALPR data can also reveal a lot about a person's movements, and 404 Media found that the system was used in Texas to track a woman after she had an abortion. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The vast majority of the camera monitoring systems in Arizona are used in the Phoenix area, with some in more rural areas and near the border. The Arizona Mirror reached out to nine law enforcement agencies that use the cameras, sold by a company called Flock, to ask if they had received requests from ICE and if they use Flock's ALPR Nova tool. The Nova tool came under scrutiny after 404 Media reported it had been using data obtained through security breaches and not just data from public records. Since the reporting, Flock said it will no longer use the hacked data. The El Mirage, Buckeye, Apache Junction and Casa Grande police departments all told the Mirror that they do not use the Nova tool and that ICE has not requested their data. 'We have not received any requests from ICE for any of our data. Border Patrol and HSI both receive our alerts for things such as stolen vehicles or wanted subjects,' Casa Grande Chief of Police Mark McCrory said in an email to the Mirror. 'They can't access our data other than receiving these alerts.' A spokesperson for the Scottsdale Police Department said it does not use the Nova tool but was 'unaware' whether ICE had made any data requests and suggested the Mirror make a public records request to obtain more information. The La Paz, Maricopa, Graham county sheriff's offices and the Somerton Police Department did not respond to the Mirror's requests for comment. The reporting by 404 Media was published as law enforcement agencies across the nation and in Arizona face more scrutiny for their cooperation with federal authorities on President Donald Trump's deportation agenda. At Phoenix City Hall Wednesday, activists with the progressive group Poder in Action delivered a citizen petition to the city requesting the Phoenix Police Department quit working with ICE. While Phoenix Police do not use the Flock camera system, they do work with ICE in other capacities and have an ALPR program. The Arizona Republic reported that the majority of arrests in the metro area that led to ICE deportation actions came from Phoenix Police. State lawmakers have been seeking to force local law enforcement to work more with ICE. During a Wednesday meeting, Phoenix City Councilwoman Anna Hernandez brought up the 404 Media report and asked Police Chief Dennis Orender if Phoenix Police shares its ALPR program with ICE. Phoenix Police use an ALPR system by Vigilant Solutions, one of the nation's largest ALPR vendors and one used by several other law enforcement agencies in the state. Orender said that if an 'approved entity' made a request for data from the database then they could get access but stressed that it does not provide information on 'registration and ownership of the vehicle' just where it was at a 'point in time.' Councilwoman Kesha Hodge Washington also voiced similar concerns, and mentioned the 404 Media report about the Texas cop who used ALPR data to track a woman who had gotten an abortion. 'What protocols are being set up to ensure the privacy of our Phoenix residents?' Washington asked. Orender said that the agency has policies to protect privacy but when Mayor Kate Gallego asked him if anyone was doing 'spot checks' to make sure no one was making 'queries for their ex-wife,' Orender said he would have to come back on June 18 with an answer. Poder Co-Executive Director Ben Laughlin hopes that petitions like the one his organization presented to the council on Wednesday will help keep people from being part of the 'deportation pipeline.' 'The deportations are resulting from stops, basic interactions that are pushing folks into the Fourth Avenue Jail where they're interacting with ICE,' Laughlin said. He added that he hopes the impact of the petition would help limit Phoenix Police from engaging in racial profiling like it did in the past. Laughlin also said he hopes that local politicians, who said they wouldn't cooperate with Trump's deportation agenda, stay true to their word. 'We also need elected officials to follow through on the promises that they made,' Laughlin said. The Phoenix City Council asked that police come to its June 18 meeting with a plan to ensure that use of the ALPR data is audited and to have better answers to their questions about how the data is used. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Axon-backed bill to cancel Scottsdale election on HQ complex sparks Republican infighting
Axon brought a mobile tactical simulator to the Arizona Capitol on March 4, 2025, as part of its effort to back legislation that would stop a ballot referendum in Scottsdale brought by residents opposed to the company's plans to build a 74-acre campus near the Loop 101 and Hayden Road. Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy | Arizona Mirror Republican lawmakers fought with each other Wednesday over a proposal that would strip away the right of Scottsdale voters to challenge the sprawling headquarters project for law enforcement technology company Axon. An earlier Axon-backed GOP effort to make it impossible for all Arizonans to let local voters challenge development projects at the ballot box failed to gain traction, so the company's allies in the legislature pivoted instead to a proposal that would disenfranchise just Scottsdale's voters. The House International Trade Committee signed off on a bill last month that would bar Scottsdale voters from heading to the polls to decide the fate of Axon's planned 74-acre campus near Hayden Road and the Loop 101. In addition to the company's headquarters, the development would also include 1,900 apartments and a luxury hotel. The Arizona Constitution gives residents the right to refer matters to the ballot. Local activists, backed by a signature-gathering effort linked to a California labor union, gathered more than 25,000 signatures to send the rezoning decision made by a lame-duck city council — the votes for the project came from councilors who had been voted out of office — to the ballot in a voter referendum, which must happen by November 2026. The measure that lawmakers advanced on Wednesday would cancel that election. It says that any municipality with between 200,000 and 500,000 residents — Scottsdale had 241,000 residents in the 2020 census — must 'allow hotel use and multifamily residential housing' for land zoned like the Axon parcel 'without requiring any type of application that will require a public hearing' if certain criteria is met. Rep. Joseph Chaplik, R-Scottsdale, said he and other Scottsdale lawmakers were not brought to the table on the proposed legislation. He unsuccessfully tried to amend the measure, leading to lengthy debate on the House floor. 'Not one Scottsdale representative, all nine of us, was involved in this,' Chaplik said. Rep. Tony Rivero, R-Peoria, who sponsored the strike-everything amendment at Axon's behest and chaired the committee that heard it, said that he reached out to Chaplik 'several times.' He also claimed that the referendum campaign was orchestrated by 'outside special interest groups,' a line that Axon and its supporters have repeatedly used. Chaplik has been strongly opposed to the efforts to undermine the Scottsdale election, and has gotten into heated arguments at the Capitol with Axon CEO Patrick Smith about the legislation, something he made note of during floor debate of Senate Bill 1543. Chaplik claimed he was 'assaulted, accosted and threatened' by Smith at the legislature, and that his colleagues had 'handed over the keys' to Smith and his lobbyists in order to let them sway lawmakers. Last month, Axon held a large press conference on the House lawn that included a large number of their employees, technology, food and more where lawmakers were seen rubbing elbows with Axon's C-suite and lobbyists. Rivero claimed that the bill is not specific to Axon but could not name a single other project that it could apply to, and he admitted that Axon brought the legislation to him. 'Yes, I was approached by Axon, but I am approached by many groups,' Rivero said when Rep. Pamela Carter, R-Scottsdale, asked him where the legislation originated. 'I have no history with Axon, I have no history with their leadership. I met them about a month ago.' Rivero said the reason he sponsored the legislation was because of the economic impact that Axon and similar companies leaving the state would have. Although the bill is in response to Scottsdale's Axon referendum, he said that the issue 'goes beyond Scottsdale.' That didn't satisfy Chaplik. 'Where is the respect for me and my colleagues in Scottsdale that oppose this bill?' Chaplik asked when explaining one of his several amendments that failed to be added. 'Folks, there is a red button on your desk. I hope that a few of you use it once and a while.' Chaplik's amendments included requiring that the international campus have its workers work on-site, change the amount of housing meant for workers from 20% to 50% and more. All were rejected. The bill cleared floor debate on an informal vote and is now cleared for a formal roll-call vote. If it passes the House, it would go back to the Senate for a final vote. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
After collecting 26,000 signatures, Scottsdale voters may lose the right to vote on Axon's HQ campus
Axon CEO Patrick Smith speaks the Arizona Capitol on March 4, 2025, as part of the company's effort to back legislation that would stop a ballot referendum in Scottsdale brought by residents opposed to its plans to build a 74-acre campus near the Loop 101 and Hayden Road. Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy | Arizona Mirror After a GOP effort to make it impossible for Arizonans to let local voters challenge development projects at the ballot box failed to gain traction, lawmakers are instead attempting to strip that right away from just Scottsdale voters so Axon can build a massive new headquarters and housing project without opposition. Earlier this month, Republican lawmakers, flanked by Axon executives and employees, launched a full-court press for a proposal that would have stripped voters across the Grand Canyon State of their right to mobilize to overturn zoning changes their city councils approve. But the legislation faced an uphill battle, with opposition from both neighborhood advocates and other GOP lawmakers, and it soon became clear the effort wouldn't be successful. So, on Wednesday, Axon's allies pivoted and reworked the legislation to apply only to Axon. The House International Trade Committee heard one bill approved a strike-everything amendment that would bar Scottsdale voters from heading to the polls to decide the fate of the Axon's sprawling 74-acre campus near Hayden Road and the Loop 101. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Arizona Constitution gives residents the right to refer matters to the ballot. Local activists, backed by a signature-gathering effort linked to a labor union, gathered signatures to send the rezoning decision made by a lame-duck city council — the votes for the project came from councilors who had been voted out of office — to the ballot in a voter referendum, which must happen by November 2026. The measure that lawmakers advanced on Wednesday would cancel that election. It says that any municipality with between 200,000 and 500,000 residents — Scottsdale had 241,000 residents in the 2020 census — must 'allow hotel use and multifamily residential housing' for land zoned like the Axon parcel 'without requiring any type of application that will require a public hearing' if certain criteria is met. It also would disallow the municipality from withholding a building permit and applies to companies that are building an 'international headquarters,' like Axon plans. 'My inspiration here is to support that commitment to these companies that are coming here to establish themselves,' Sen. Frank Carroll, R-Sun City, said. Carroll sponsored the underlying bill, and approved of the amendment, which was formally introduced by Rep. Tony Rivero, R-Peoria, the committee's chairman. Rivero and other proponents of the bill said it wasn't really about Axon, but unnamed 'groups' who are using the referendum process to 'halt' economic development in the state. Business groups like Greater Phoenix Leadership, which represents the largest business interests in the state, and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry came out in support of the bill. Even though the language is tailored to apply specifically to Axon, they denied the measure was about the company, which makes equipment for law enforcement. 'What other companies in Arizona would qualify for this?' Rep. Stacey Travers, D-Phoenix, asked Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry President and CEO Danny Seiden. Seiden was unable to come up with a single other company that would also benefit from the bill, instead saying it would 'provide a vehicle' for other companies. 'So, basically, this just benefits Axon?' Travers asked. Seiden said 'right now it does,' but said it would also aid future companies looking to build similar projects in Arizona. Peoria Mayor Jason Beck, who also runs the ballistic vest company Tyr Tactical, said the bill is about making sure Arizona stays competitive as a state for business. 'I don't compete with other companies, I compete with other states,' Beck said, adding that he often meets with governors of other states to figure out how Arizona can stay competitive. But local activists and current members of the Scottsdale City Council said the measure was horrible public policy. This is a bill designed to obliterate Scottsdale residents' rights. This isn't about taking care of jobs and economic growth. This is about one man who wants to avoid an election. – Michelle Ugenti-Rita, Taxpayers Against Awful Apartment Zoning Exemptions 'This is a bill designed to obliterate Scottsdale residents' rights,' former Republican lawmaker Michelle Ugenti-Rita told the committee. She was representing a Scottsdale group called Taxpayers Against Awful Apartment Zoning Exemptions, or TAAAZE for short. That group gathered more than 26,000 signatures from Scottsdale residents in order to get a referendum on the 2026 ballot to ask Scottsdale voters if Axon can build its campus with the proposed 1,900 apartment units it was rezoned for. 'This isn't about taking care of jobs and economic growth. This is about one man who wants to avoid an election,' Ugenti-Rita said, referring to Axon CEO Patrick Smith. 'Now, we have a bill in the last committee hearing, a striker that is going to rig an election… If we want to have this fight, it should happen within the boundaries of Scottsdale.' Ugenti-Rita told the committee that she and other opponents of the project are willing to negotiate with Axon on their proposal. But rather than do that, Axon has instead set out to change state law to protect its interests. Smith acknowledged as much when he spoke before the committee. 'You gotta get this solved in this legislative session or you are directed to sell this land,' Smith said his board of directors told him, adding that they would make a profit off selling the land. Scottsdale Councilman Barry Graham said the legislature had no business letting Axon avoid the will of the voters. 'They have told us overwhelmingly that they want to vote on this project,' Graham said of Scottsdale voters. 'This striker bill would deny them that right — a constitutional right.' Both Vice-Mayor Jan Dubauskas and Graham said they support Axon as a company and do not want it to leave, but question why the company needs 1,900 apartment units in an area where city leaders have already approved 5,000 multi-family units. 'Why is the maker of Taser becoming an apartment complex developer?' Dubauskas asked. 'Why is the legislature even getting involved in all that?' Smith told the committee that Axon wants to stay in Scottsdale, but 'we are just nowhere close' to getting a deal done. He has said the firm has no interest in going before voters and will leave Arizona before the election if the law isn't changed to protect the development project. Smith sat next to the attorney for his development deal, Charles Huellmantel, during the hearing. Huellmantel has faced controversy and criticism in the past for his development deals. The room was also full of Axon employees in yellow and black shirts, the colors of Axon's premiere product, its 'non-lethal' taser. 'I'm not going to stand in the way of this and tell a company to get out,' Rep. Justin Wilmeth, R-Phoenix, told his colleagues. The bill passed out of the committee unanimously and will head next to the full House for consideration. If it passes the chamber, it will return to the Senate for a final vote before going to Gov. Katie Hobbs. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal office closures to hit Bureau of Indian Affairs, including in Arizona
Flags from Arizona's 22 federally recognized tribal nations line the lawn in front of the Arizona House of Representatives on Jan. 15, 2025, as part of the 30th annual Indian Nations and Tribes Legislative Day. Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy | Arizona Mirror As President Donald Trump's administration moves to shut down federal office spaces, several tribes across the country will be left without a Bureau of Indian Affairs office space, including in Arizona. A list released by the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee reveals the scale of the General Services Administration's planned federal office closures across the Department of the Interior. These include 25 BIA offices — more than one in every four BIA locations nationwide. U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said the impact on the BIA will be devastating. 'These offices are already underfunded, understaffed, and stretched beyond capacity, struggling to meet the needs of Tribal communities who face systemic barriers to federal resources,' Huffman said in a press release. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The BIA closures include three offices in Arizona: a law enforcement office in Fredonia, an airport terminal building in Show Low and the Western Region Regional Office in Phoenix. 'Closing these offices will further erode services like public safety, economic development, education, and housing assistance—services that Tribal Nations rely on for their well-being and self-determination,' Huffman said. The BIA works with tribal governments and tribal members across the country through the administration of a variety of programs and services, including employment and job training assistance, social services, natural resources management on trust lands, agriculture and economic development, law enforcement and detention services and the administration of tribal courts, implementation of land and water claim settlements. The BIA office in Phoenix is located at 2600 N. Central Ave. and it serves 53 tribes in the western region, including 20 from Arizona. The office has a planned lease termination date of Aug. 31. The Arizona Mirror contacted the BIA for comment on the slated closures, and its Office of Public Affairs issued a statement. 'The Department of the Interior is committed to upholding federal responsibilities to tribal communities. Indian Affairs offices remain open and continue to provide services,' the statement said. 'The Department of the Interior is working with GSA to ensure facilities will be available for the continued delivery of BIA services.' No additional details were provided on what these closures would mean for the area or the tribes the office serves. The General Services Administration plans to terminate leases for more than two million square feet of office space used by the Department of the Interior across the country. The result will be closing 164 offices, including 34 U.S. Geological Survey locations and 33 National Park Service facilities. 'Shuttering these physical locations goes hand in glove with DOGE's 'destroy the government' approach, and it will make their illegal cuts even more challenging to reverse,' Huffman said in a press release, referring to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency that has been led by billionaire Elon Musk and tasked with gutting the federal government. 'The economic fallout will ripple across America, hitting small towns and cities where federal offices are many communities' only lifelines.' GSA Public Affairs Officer Mary Simms said the agency's vision under Acting Administrator Stephen Ehikian includes reducing deferred maintenance liabilities, supporting federal employees' return to office and taking advantage of a stronger private-government partnership to manage the workforce of the future. 'GSA is reviewing all options to optimize our footprint and building utilization,' Simms said in a statement emailed to the Arizona Mirror. 'A component of our space consolidation plan will be the termination of many soft term leases.' She said the extent of the termination affects public-facing facilities and existing tenants, but the GSA is working with agency partners to secure suitable alternative space. 'In many cases, this will allow us to increase space utilization and obtain improved terms,' Simms added. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Republican lawmakers ignore legal warnings to push forward with restrictions on trans people, flags
Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy | Arizona Mirror Republican lawmakers are aiming to erase trans Arizonans from public life and ban government agencies from displaying LGBTQ pride flags, ignoring warnings from legislative attorneys that doing so could potentially violate the U.S. Constitution. On Monday, a panel of five Republican state representatives and three Democrats voted along party lines to declare two bills that continue the GOP's recent trend of advancing discriminatory legislation are constitutional and fit for consideration by the full House of Representatives. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Across the country Republican attacks on LGBTQ people, particularly trans Americans, have escalated, each year breaking the last year's record since 2021. And with President Donald Trump in office, GOP lawmakers are more eager than ever to target LGBTQ Americans. In Arizona, that hostility manifests in proposals that seek to greenlight discrimination against trans people in public spaces and block state agencies from expressing support for the LGBTQ community. House Bill 2062 would enshrine a narrow definition of biological sex into state law based on a person's reproductive characteristics and allow schools and other state agencies to bar trans people from using the bathrooms or locker rooms that best align with their gender identity. Trans Arizonans would also be prevented from joining athletic teams or living in domestic violence shelters that reflect who they are. House Bill 2113, meanwhile, would forbid the flying of any flag on a government building that isn't an Arizona state flag, an Arizona Indian Nations flag, a first responder flag, any version of the American flag or a blue star or gold star service flag. House Rules Attorney Tim Fleming told lawmakers that both bills have the potential to embroil the state in legal challenges. The proposal advocating for a limited application of biological sex could lead to lawsuits from transgender Arizonans who experience discrimination as a result of state agencies that use the law to develop restrictive public facility policies. 'Policies (that) separate biological men from women could cause an issue with transgender persons who seek to use restroom facilities that match their gender identity,' Fleming said. While he acknowledged that the legal landscape around transgender rights remains 'unsettled,' he pointed out that, for now, federal law and the U.S. Constitution shield Americans from gender-based discrimination. The 14th Amendment guarantees all Americans enjoy equal treatment under the law, whileTitle IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination at any federally funded school, and Title VII, which covers employee civil rights, have long been interpreted as including gender identity in their protections. And the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, under whose jurisdiction Arizona lies, temporarily blocked an Idaho law forcing trans students to use school facilities consistent with their biological sex while it considers the case's constitutional implications. In the end, Fleming said a clearer legal picture will likely emerge in the next few years. 'We probably should talk more about these kinds of things in three or four years, and then we will know what the full state of the law is as it settles down,' he said. Fleming also warned lawmakers that the bid to strictly limit which kinds of flags state buildings can display is in danger of violating the free speech protections that even government employees have. 'What's unclear from the bill as it was originally presented was whether there might be some overbroad application that might cut off a government actor's ability to fully express private thoughts,' he said. Opponents of the proposal have pointed out that it's likely to jeopardize the ability of Arizonans to show off allegiance to their favorite sports teams or foreign language teachers to display the flag of the country whose language students are studying. Democrats have accused Republican lawmakers of attempting to censure Gov. Katie Hobbs for her move to fly the LGBTQ pride flag from the Ninth Floor for the first time in the state's history. To remedy some of the bill's issues, Fleming said he and its sponsor have worked on an amendment that will exempt 'approved educational curricula' and the right of Arizonans to express 'civil and political liberties.' While the bills are likely to earn the approval of the Republican majority legislature, they're almost certainly headed towards Hobbs' veto stamp. The Democrat has repeatedly vowed to reject any proposals that seek to curtail the rights of LGBTQ Arizonans, and a near-identical copy of the bill seeking to enshrine a limited understanding of biological sex into state law has already been vetoed by the governor last year. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
