{"id":400,"date":"2026-05-16T11:03:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T11:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=400"},"modified":"2026-05-16T11:03:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T11:03:14","slug":"phoenix-pd-chief-sends-message-with-sergeants-firing-over-anti-ice-rally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=400","title":{"rendered":"Phoenix PD chief sends message with sergeant\u2019s firing over anti-ICE rally"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 Phoenix Police Chief Matt Giordano terminated a sergeant Wednesday in a move experts say sends a clear message about accountability as the department works to rebuild community trust.<\/p>\n

Read more Tucson childcare providers find professional development in Spanish<\/a><\/p>\n

Giordano fired Sgt. Dusten Mullen after he showed up armed and masked to an immigration protest at a Chandler high school and told officers he planned to provoke students into assaulting him.<\/p>\n

This is the first high-profile termination under Giordano since he took over the department last summer following a national search.<\/p>\n

Giordano called Mullen\u2019s actions during the January student walkout \u201cserious\u201d and a threat to community trust.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunity trust is not something we are owed; it\u2019s something we earn every day,\u201d Giordano said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Expert: Chief\u2019s decision sends clear signal<\/h2>\n

Former Arizona police chief and law enforcement expert Stan Kephart said the firing sends a message both inside the department and to the public.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a sergeant. He\u2019s a supervisor. He\u2019s the one that is looked to by his peers,\u201d Kephart said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that the actual behavior and conduct of the chief is spot on. I would have done the same thing,\u201d Kephart said.<\/p>\n

Kephart said for a department under scrutiny, the chief has to act.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the chief is sending that message and I think it\u2019s loud and clear. And quite frankly, I applaud him for doing his job,\u201d Kephart said.<\/p>\n

What happened at the protest<\/h2>\n

Chandler police reports say Mullen showed up off-duty, armed and wearing a face covering during a protest featuring Hamilton High School students over immigration policies.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy plan is legitimately to let them all assault me and you guys arrest them all and I will keep it on film. I also have other people filming from distance,\u201d Mullen said, according to body camera footage.<\/p>\n

Read more Man accused of stabbing mother while she slept at Chandler home<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe intention was clear. He was there, he was armed. And so that violates policy along with the intent to have others attack him,\u201d Kephart said.<\/p>\n

Department under federal scrutiny<\/h2>\n

The firing comes as Phoenix police continue facing pressure after the Justice Department\u2019s yearslong report listing excessive force, unlawful detentions and discrimination against minority communities, protesters and people experiencing homelessness.<\/p>\n

Giordano was sworn in last August. He has said rebuilding trust is central to his leadership.<\/p>\n

Giordano has repeatedly said his priorities are transparency, community trust and accountability, especially after the Justice Department found a pattern of civil rights violations and accountability failures inside Phoenix police.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you come in and you put your foot down and say, no, there\u2019s an emotional reaction on the part of the people that receive the discipline,\u201d Kephart said.<\/p>\n

Mullen\u2019s attorney disputes the investigation, saying Mullen was exercising his First Amendment rights and did not incite violence.<\/p>\n

Mullen has filed an emergency motion in federal court trying to block his termination.<\/p>\n

The Arizona Conference of Police and Sheriffs argues the discipline was based on protected off-duty speech and a sloppy internal investigation.<\/p>\n

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? <\/i>Please click here to report it<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send <\/i>it to us here<\/i> with a brief description.<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more ICE pepper sprays immigrants awaiting deportation at AZ airport<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Phoenix Police Chief Matt Giordano is sending a message to the community after he fired a sergeant for counter-protesting a high school anti-ICE rally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nPhoenix PD chief sends message with sergeant\u2019s firing over anti-ICE rally - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=400\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Phoenix PD chief sends message with sergeant\u2019s firing over anti-ICE rally - Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Phoenix Police Chief Matt Giordano is sending a message to the community after he fired a sergeant for counter-protesting a high school anti-ICE rally.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=400\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-16T11:03:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=400#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=400\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"headline\":\"Phoenix PD chief sends message with sergeant\u2019s firing over anti-ICE rally\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-16T11:03:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=400\"},\"wordCount\":575,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=400#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/b5ce42d82c5a30fa54730a7899f7c2ab.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=400#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=400\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=400\",\"name\":\"Phoenix PD chief sends message with sergeant\u2019s firing over anti-ICE rally - Tucson Moving Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=400#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=400#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/b5ce42d82c5a30fa54730a7899f7c2ab.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-16T11:03:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=400#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=400\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=400#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/b5ce42d82c5a30fa54730a7899f7c2ab.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/b5ce42d82c5a30fa54730a7899f7c2ab.avif\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=400#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Phoenix PD chief sends message with sergeant\u2019s firing over anti-ICE rally\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tucson Moving Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Phoenix PD chief sends message with sergeant\u2019s firing over anti-ICE rally - Tucson Moving Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=400","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Phoenix PD chief sends message with sergeant\u2019s firing over anti-ICE rally - Tucson Moving Report","og_description":"Phoenix Police Chief Matt Giordano is sending a message to the community after he fired a sergeant for counter-protesting a high school anti-ICE rally.","og_url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=400","og_site_name":"Tucson Moving Report","article_published_time":"2026-05-16T11:03:14+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=400#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=400"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255"},"headline":"Phoenix PD chief sends message with sergeant\u2019s firing over anti-ICE rally","datePublished":"2026-05-16T11:03:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=400"},"wordCount":575,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=400#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b5ce42d82c5a30fa54730a7899f7c2ab.avif","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=400#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=400","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=400","name":"Phoenix PD chief sends message with sergeant\u2019s firing over anti-ICE rally - Tucson Moving Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=400#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=400#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b5ce42d82c5a30fa54730a7899f7c2ab.avif","datePublished":"2026-05-16T11:03:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=400#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=400"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=400#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b5ce42d82c5a30fa54730a7899f7c2ab.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b5ce42d82c5a30fa54730a7899f7c2ab.avif","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=400#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Phoenix PD chief sends message with sergeant\u2019s firing over anti-ICE rally"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/","name":"Tucson Moving Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}