PHOENIX – There was a coordinated effort between Valley police departments and the FBI to gather information about local Black Lives Matter protesters over the past year, according to an audio recording obtained by ABC15.
During a meeting on October 15, Phoenix police officers described to two FBI agents how information flowed from an informant to various Valley law enforcement agencies.
The meeting was scheduled so that the FBI could interview Riley Behrens, a protester who agreed to provide local police and federal officials with information about regular protesters and activists who organized events.
“Riley has been giving information to (Phoenix) PD through Gilbert PD,” said an unnamed Phoenix official. “Gilbert PD has been spreading this information to Phoenix and Tempe, Mesa and Gilbert.”
Protesters and their prosecutors have long suspected that the police and prosecutors are watching some demonstrators and aiming at the detention of important activists.
In some cases, images from body cameras show police officers clearly identifying certain protesters in the crowd before they specifically go to arrest them.
Police reports of several criminal cases also mention intelligence briefings about protests, but do not elaborate on the source of the information.
During the meeting, FBI agents went through a general summary of how their informant process works, including how they protect sources and investigate “conspiracies”.
“You will be given a number and a different name. Therefore, whenever you provide us with information, nothing goes into your real name. Therefore, there are reports that will be generated when you provide us with information, it is difficult to link them to you, ”said an agent.
Later, he continued, “If you are still part of the group and they come up with a plan, or what we would call a conspiracy to do something, we can give you the authority to continue that conspiracy and not be carried over.”
The date of the FBI meeting was two days before a group of protesters was arrested and eventually accused of being a street gang.
The charges, which have since been dismissed, were based on gross exaggerations and lies presented to a grand jury by Phoenix officials and prosecutors in Maricopa County.
Both Phoenix and the Maricopa County Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered external investigations of misconduct.
The recording of the October 15 meeting further contradicts claims made by Gilbert police, who underestimated the role of his department in protest cases coming out of Phoenix.
ABC15 previously exhibited recordings showing that Gilbert’s police detective Terry Burchett helped a retired Phoenix detective prepare an unofficial interview with Behrens.
The detectives’ aim at the meeting was to “protect” police officers and a prosecutor involved in the scandal.
The Maricopa County Prosecutor’s Office is now investigating the clandestine meeting.
[Editor’s note: This report is part of an ongoing series of ABC15 investigative reports called “Politically Charged.” The series can be found at ABC15.com/protests. Contact ABC15 Investigator Dave Biscobing at [email protected]. ABC15 is not publishing the recordings of the March 4th, 2021 and October 15, 2020 meetings because they are the subject of ongoing reporting.]