Executive Director, Janice S. Strauss
Gilbert Police Department
75 East Civic Center Drive
Gilbert, AZ 85296
480-635-7757
Website: www.azchiefsofpolice.org
President
Roberto A. Villasenor
Tucson Police Department
Immediate Past President
Michael T. Frazier
Surprise Police Department
First Vice President
Dan Doyle
Lake Havasu Police
Department
Second Vice President
Raymond 0. Cota
Sedona Police Department
Third Vice President
Terry S. Rozema
Marana Police Department
Fourth Vice President
Joseph R. Brugman
Safford Police Department
Fifth Vice President
Thomas E. Kelly
Apache Junction Police
Department
Ad Hoc Member
Jack Harris
Retired
Phoenix Police Department

March 25, 2015
The Honorable Douglas A. Ducey
Governor, State of Arizona
1700 West Washington
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
Dear Governor Ducey:
On behalf of the Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police (AACOP), I urge you to
veto SB 1445 public records; peace officer's name.
SB 1445, if enacted, would prohibit a law enforcement agency or employing state
or local governmental agency from publicly releasing the name of a peace officer
who is involved in the use of deadly physical force that results in either death or
serious physical injury of the officer or another person for sixty days unless a very
specific set of circumstances occur.
The direct result of this new law if enacted would be to restrict a Police Chief,
Sheriff and the Department of Public Safety Director from proper oversight and
administration of critical issues that occur in their organizations and their
community.
Under current practice, an officer' s name is released only after careful consideration
of the officer' s safety and the interests of the community. If SB 1445 is enacted,
the new conditions would primarily allow for earlier release of the officer's
name only if the peace officer agreed in writing to release his or her name (or the
peace officer's next of kin if the officer was killed or incapacitated).
This proposed new law does not take into consideration the practical realities of
these complex situations. If the name of the officer involved gets out via social
media, a police chief would still not be able to discuss the officer's name or respond

 SB 1445 Opposition
Page 2

to the media until the sixty-day time period has elapsed unless permission had been
g1ven.

President
Roberto A. Villasenor
Tucson Police Department
Immediate Past President
Michael T. Frazier
Surprise Police Department
First Vice President
Dan Doyle
Lake Havasu Police
Department
Second Vice President
Raymond 0. Cota
Sedona Police Department
Third Vice President
Terry S. Rozema
Marana Police Department

As the legislative committee testimony showed, the sixty-day time period in SB
1445 is an arbitrary number that has no direct relationship to the time necessary to
evaluate each specific case involving an officer' s use of deadly force.
In addition, ARS 39-123.01 B creates an unintended consequence far beyond what
the bill sponsor is attempting to resolve with SB 1445. The new ARS 39-123.01 B
as written would require a police officer's name to be redacted in perpetuity in "any
release of disciplinary action taken against the officer," even if the officer or his or
her kin have agreed in writing to release the name, or the sixty day time period has
expired.
For the above stated reasons, we urge you to veto SB 1445.
Thank you for your consideration.

Fourth Vice President
Joseph R. Brugman
Safford Police Department
Fifth Vice President
Thomas E. Kelly
Apache Junction Police
Department
Ad Hoc Member
Jack Harris
Retired
Phoenix Police Department

President
Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police