Phoenix police on Wednesday stopped someone who was providing aid to the city’s unhoused residents, held her down on the pavement, and arrested her.
Sophia Dancel is part of the group Unsheltered Phoenix, and has been one of the Valley’s most dedicated volunteers in “The Zone,” the largest encampment in the state. Dancel has brought those who stay there food, clothing, and other lifesaving supplies for years.
She’s also been very outspoken about the discrimination, violence, and human rights violations she has seen firsthand from law enforcement against unsheltered Arizonans.
As first reported by the Arizona Republic, the Phoenix Police Department—-which is currently under investigation by the Department of Justice for multiple civil rights violations—had closed off a section of “The Zone” and was in the process of evicting 37 residents.
RELATED: Want That Police Bodycam Footage? It Might Cost You.
Dancel was there to provide aid and document what was happening when police told her to leave. When she didn’t, police pinned her to the scorching hot pavement, cited her with trespassing and resisting arrest, and took her to jail. She was released later that day.
A coalition of civil rights and police accountability groups, including Mass Liberation AZ, Black Lives Matter Metro Phoenix, and Fuerte Arts Movement, released a joint statement after the arrest.
“The fact that this arrest happened while the department is under a Department of Justice investigation for several civil rights violations, including retaliatory targeting and arrests of police critics and their treatment of the unsheltered community, is a slap in the face not only to Phoenix residents but the DOJ as well,” the statement said.
Dancel and others who have provided aid to those living in “The Zone” say they have experienced harassment from police in the past, and believe the arrest to be a form of political prosecution.
CONTINUE READING: Phoenix Police Controversies May Have Sparked DOJ Probe Into the Department
Author
Support Our Cause
Thank you for taking the time to read our work. Before you go, we hope you'll consider supporting our values-driven journalism, which has always strived to make clear what's really at stake for Arizonans and our future.
Since day one, our goal here at The Copper Courier has always been to empower people across the state with fact-based news and information. We believe that when people are armed with knowledge about what's happening in their local, state, and federal governments—including who is working on their behalf and who is actively trying to block efforts aimed at improving the daily lives of Arizona families—they will be inspired to become civically engaged.
He said what? 10 things to know about RFK Jr.
The Kennedy family has long been considered “Democratic royalty.” But Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.—son of Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated while...
Here’s everything you need to know about this month’s Mercury retrograde
Does everything in your life feel a little more chaotic than usual? Or do you feel like misunderstandings are cropping up more frequently than they...
Arizona expects to be back at the center of election attacks. Its officials are going on offense
Republican Richer and Democrat Fontes are taking more aggressive steps than ever to rebuild trust with voters, knock down disinformation, and...
George Santos’ former treasurer running attack ads in Arizona with Dem-sounding PAC name
An unregistered, Republican-run political action committee from Texas with a deceptively Democratic name and ties to disgraced US Rep. George Santos...
