Ongoing look into local law enforcement and anti-trafficking efforts

Update 9/12/22: I submitted this letter to the City Council:

Update 8/21/22: Arizona Daily Sun interview with City Manager Greg Clifton.

Update 8/10/22: Very little information has been released by the City, which is frustrating. ABC15 recently ran a follow up story and the Arizona Daily Sun ran a story today, August 10. This article contains opinions of two defense attorneys that the officers involved likely broke Arizona law. I can’t find any statement on the City of Flagstaff’s website and the Coconino County Attorney apparently hasn’t issued any statements.

According to ABC15, the incident is being investigated by an outside agency and they were first to report that Flagstaff’s Chief of Police, Dan Musselman has been placed on a non-disciplinary administrative leave by the City Manager. I want to hear from the City that this matter is being investigated. I also want to know why an operation that was supposed to identify potential human traffickers ends up arresting women who for all we know–because we don’t have much public information–were being trafficked. Finally, I want to see some accountability and policy changes so something like this doesn’t happen again.

I’ve had a couple of meetings with individuals more knowledgeable about the legal system and human trafficking than I am. It seems that Flagstaff law enforcement needs substantial training as to how prevalent trafficking is in Flagstaff and northern Arizona is in need of a coordinated approach to caring for victims and holding the correct people accountable. I’ll continue these discussions and do whatever I can to help bring the education and accountability needed.

Original post July 13, 2022: On July 8, ABC15 ran a story about a Flagstaff Police Department investigation into suspected human trafficking, sex trafficking, and prostitution.

Based on the information that’s publicly available, I have many questions about this operation, how it was constructed, and especially how it was implemented. Human trafficking has devastating impacts to victims and Flagstaff, being located at the junction of two Interstates, must be increasingly vigilant for signs of this heinous crime.

As Mayor, I would request a debrief on the legal issues surrounding the operation. If in fact, as the ABC15 story implies, this operation’s stated purpose wasn’t executed, I would request that the City Council join me in demanding an explanation for the divergence from the original goal and steps that will be taken to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again.

I’ve been in touch with Northland Family Help Center’s Flagstaff Initiative Against Trafficking (FIAT) program to see whether they’ve received additional information about this situation and will update here with any additional information. For more information about human trafficking in Arizona, visit the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence website or Training and Resources United to Stop Trafficking’s website.

The FIAT program gave this statement following the story.

The City of Flagstaff issued this statement regarding the ABC15 news story.