Tucson police union makes recommendation for new chief

The Tucson Police Officers’ Association announced its support for Dallas Deputy Chief Malik Aziz to become the city’s next police chief.

The union’s choice differs from a city advisory search panel that picked Christopher Magnus, police chief in Richmond, California, as its recommended candidate to become Tucson’s top cop.

The police union also announced Wednesday its decision was supported by the Fraternal Order of Police and the Pima County Deputy Sheriff’s Association.

During visits to each of the three finalists’ hometowns and police departments, two representatives from the Tucson police union gathered information about the candidates’ law enforcement experience, leadership style, and the issues their communities faced, according to a news release from the TPOA.

“The information we gathered, from being there in person, was invaluable,” said association president Roland Gutierrez.

In addition, he said the union received dozens of positive recommendations about Aziz from the Dallas police department and the community at large.

“Chief Aziz understands the issues our department is facing: staffing, retention, equipment and, most importantly, employee morale,” Gutierrez said. “He also clearly understands the challenges faced by our community.”

Following last week’s three-hour meeting of the TPOA in which the three finalists for police chief were discussed, the officers in attendance filled out a survey, vice president Brad Pelton wrote in a memo to union members.

Aziz received 50 votes of support from the roughly 70 members in attendance, whereas Magnus, the finalist recommended by the citizen advisory committee, received three votes, Pelton said.

The memo listed the positives and negatives for Magnus, but did not employ the same method when discussing the other two finalists.

The negatives they identified for Magnus were: inconsistent discipline, lack of direction, a promotion process that is based on a non-ranked list selection, follows the “political wind,” participated in a “Black Lives Matter” protest, brought in a civilian to replace the commander in their internal affairs division, low morale, seen as “disingenuous” and has been the focus of harassment and discrimination complaints, according to the memo.

The positives listed for Magnus were that he helped

reduce crime, increased police staffing, increased technology, increased police officer compensation and improved community relations.

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During the visit to Richmond, Pelton said he saw a cartoon hanging on the wall of Magnus’ office that depicted the “Black Lives Matter” protest in which he participated.

“I did not get close enough to read what it said, but the fact that it was hanging prominently on his wall spoke volumes to me as to the pride he has with being involved with this movement,” he said.

City staff announced the hiring process for chief several months ago under the guidance of a consulting firm.

“Over the next several weeks, the process, through unclear methods, eliminated all Tucson Police internal candidates,” Gutierrez said in the news release.

The information gathered during the union members visits was never shared with the City Police Chief Appointment Advisory Committee, as the union was never given the opportunity to speak formally with the committee, according to the release.

“We understand and respect the recommendation made by the citizen committee in our chief’s process,” Gutierrez said. “We simply believe that valuable information was not given to them that would have affected their decision making process.”

Union representatives met with City Manager Michael Ortega on Monday to discuss their findings. Ortega declined to comment on the meeting.

The city’s search committee recommended Magnus after a series of public interviews with the three finalists last week.

Magnus received 11 votes of support out of the 14 members in attendance. With two votes, Aziz

was the second most preferred candidate by the committee. The third finalist, Rick Gregory, received no votes, and one committee member said they wanted to start the process all over.

The City Council discussed the police chief job search in executive session Wednesday. The council told the city manager to continue his due diligence in the search. The chief will be hired by an appointment by the city manager that is subject to the council’s approval.

Tucson police Chief Roberto Villaseñor is retiring by the end of the year.