By admin 
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The Phoenix Police Department is conducting an audit of the entire South Mountain precinct after two officers were arrested in connection with a violent, off-the-books traffic stop.
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Newly obtained documents from the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, or AZPOST, show no disciplinary history for the two fired officers, Antonio Felix and Luis Vasquez.
Felix and Vasquez now face a slew of criminal charges, including kidnapping and robbery.
Officer histories
Felix joined the Phoenix Police Department in August 2017 and was fired the same day he was arrested, nine years later. Felix was found not to meet standards last summer, but AZPOST records show that finding meant he did not complete 12 mandatory hours of continuing education and certification retention training.
Vasquez has no stains on his AZPOST record until his arrest. He met standards during both audits throughout his eight years as a Phoenix police officer.
However, policy violations that do not change an officer’s employment status are not required to be reported to AZPOST.
Phoenix Police Chief Matt Giordano reviewed more detailed personnel files and said no red flags stood out to him.
“We always ask members of the community if anyone has any additional information, reference these two officers or any other, what they believe to be misconduct on behalf of Phoenix police officers, please bring it to our attention,” Giordano said.
Federal oversight background
For years, the federal government investigated the Phoenix Police Department. In 2024, the Department of Justice released a report alleging a pattern of civil rights violations by Phoenix police officers.
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City leaders, including Mayor Kate Gallego, argued that federal oversight was not needed and that reform could come from within. In 2025, the DOJ dismissed the case.
Gallego appeared on KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Tuesday to discuss the accusations against the now-former officers.
“We think that there could be more of a story to continue to come out. We are looking at these officers’ history and trying to see if anything like this has happened before. At this point there’s no evidence of that,” Gallego said.
Chief responds to oversight question
Arizona’s Family asked Chief Giordano whether the lack of federal monitoring may have allowed systemic problems to continue.
“We’ve changed almost all of our policies, all of our accountability. We created our Organizational Integrity Bureau to oversee all of that. So, although the DOJ is not here and the DOJ themselves went away, the information they gave us, we read over it and we look at it all the time. We’re always looking to improve the quality of service we provide to the community,” Giordano said.
Giordano acknowledged there were previous policy violations involving the two fired officers, but the details have not been released. Internal records related to the officers have been requested.
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