FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – No citizens attended a Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission public hearing Thursday that had been called to assess the treatment of Navajo by law enforcement in the city of nearly 70,000.
Cortez City Hall will host a hearing on border town law enforcement on Wednesday, Feb. 4 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Chairman Steven Darden, a 40-year resident of Flagstaff, attributed the lack of attendance to parking downtown. The meeting was held at the Coconino County administrative building on Cherry Avenue with hopes to attract the homeless population.
Addressing a Flagstaff police officer and a Coconino County sheriff’s official, the only two people present, Dardin praised police for their efforts to address Navajo concerns.
“I’m proud of the city of Flagstaff,” he said. “They were the first community to listen to our concerns.”
Dardin added that the sheriff’s office had been less proactive, pointing out Sheriff William B. Pribil hasn’t attended one meeting with local Native groups.
In the Flagstaff area, commissioners have received complaints ranging from incarceration without proper representation to predatory lending. Commissioners are also reviewing two deaths in the county jail.
Dardin said local authorities also utilized racial profiling, routinely singling out Navajos to confiscate Native artifacts and medications.
“Some of the stories we’ve heard are abhorrent,” he said.
Commissioner Frank Bradley, who presided over the meeting, agreed, saying he had witnessed excessive use of force by officers during his 24-year law enforcement career.
“Based on the complaints, it’s caused me to raise an eyebrow,” he said.
Bradley added that police misconduct was a national phenomenon and attributed it to a lack of adequate oversight.
“There’s no supervision on the streets,” he said. “Policy isn’t being followed, and no one is watching.”