Republican Arizona State Senators David Gowan and Janae Shamp co-sponsored new legislation (SB 1683) which promotes the cross-certification of peace officers from adjacent states (California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico) and paves the way for out-of-state peace officers to work in Arizona law enforcement agencies.
[The definition of a peace officer varies from state to state but usually means a position that carries a badge, has the power to arrest, and also carries a firearm. “Ensuring public peace is their primary responsibility,” according to Blue Force Leaning, responding to emergency calls is often cited as an typical responsibility of peace officers.]
Fellow Republican Arizona State Senator Wendy Rogers, who supports the legislation, as seen below, thanked Coconino Sheriff Jim Driscoll and his deputies “for putting forward SB 1683 to supplant [sic] Coconino County with cross-state-border law enforcement augmentation.”
Thank you @CoconinoSheriff Jim Driscoll and deputies for putting forward SB 1683 to supplant @CoconinoCounty with cross-state-border law enforcement augmentation! pic.twitter.com/V9bzmnlcZ0
— Wendy Rogers (@WendyRogersAZ) February 14, 2024
Rogers’s celebration of out-of-state peace officers coming to Arizona and “supplanting” or “augmenting” local law enforcement agencies may be cause for alarm among some Arizonans — and federal officials — as she has been linked to the Oath Keepers, the “far-right anti-government militia whose leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the government of the United States.”
In September 2022, the Arizona Republic published an op-ed titled: ‘We’ve long known that Sen. Wendy Rogers is an Oath Keeper. What’s scary is how many law enforcement officers are connected to the extremist group.’
[Note: In 2022, the Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism identified more than 370 people in the Oath Keepers membership database who are “believed to be working in law enforcement agencies, including police chiefs and sheriffs.”]
The co-sponsor of Arizona’s cross-certification of peace officers legislation, Rep. Shamp (pictured below with former President Donald Trump), also recently introduced the Arizona Border Invasion Act SB 1231, saying “our law enforcement is overwhelmed” and that “they don’t have the resources or support needed” at the U.S.-Mexico border. Shamp said, if passed, the bill “will make it a crime to enter the state anywhere but a lawful entrance point.” Shamp added, “It’s time to take the handcuffs off our sheriffs.”
Arizona state Sen. Janae Shamp has promoted neo-Nazis and other virulent antisemiteshttps://t.co/C4uD2RyiJQ
— CharlieđVote Blue đBe The Waveđ (@CPar4thecourse) June 3, 2023
Note: In Arizona, the process to become a peace officer starts with “a complete background investigation, polygraph, drug test and medical examination,” which is followed by training (classroom instruction and hands-on training). A candidate must be at least 21, possess a valid driverâs license and a high school diploma or GED to apply.
