Dustin Gardiner

The Republic | azcentral.com

Phoenix has sent Donald Trump's presidential campaign a cease-and-desist letter over a television advertisement that includes a snippet showing the Republican candidate talking with on-duty Phoenix police officers.

In the letter, City Attorney Brad Holm wrote that the Trump campaign violated federal and state law by using copyrighted material, including images of officers in uniform and at work, without permission.

Holm demanded that the campaign immediately remove the ad from airwaves and cease using it under any circumstances.

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"The officers depicted in the ad were in uniform precisely because they were on duty performing work for Phoenix at the time," Holm wrote. "In this context, the ad unmistakably and wrongfully suggests that Phoenix and the officers support or endorse Mr. Trump’s campaign."

Trump's Arizona state director, Brian Seitchik, declined to comment when reached Thursday evening.

State Rep. Phil Lovas, R-Peoria, Arizona campaign chairman for Trump, said he could not comment because he had not seen the letter.

The ad in question, titled "Movement," includes video of Trump greeting a half-dozen Phoenix police officers on an airport tarmac. It began airing more than a week ago. The footage appears to be from his June 18 visit to Phoenix, when he later spoke at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Holm said the officers "were unaware that they were photographed and videotaped, and they did not consent to the use of their on-duty images in any Trump (or other) campaign advertisement."

Phoenix city policy prohibits employees from endorsing a candidate in an advertisement while they are on duty, wearing a city uniform or on city property. However, police officers and other city employees can publicly endorse a candidate for state and national office if they are on their own time and not wearing city garb.

Ken Crane, president of the Phoenix police union, said the city strictly enforces that policy and requires officers to receive permission prior to appearing in videos wearing their official uniforms.

Crane said he questions if Phoenix will be able to stop the Trump campaign before the Nov. 8 election, suggesting the city’s letter likely was intended to make a statement and discourage other campaigns, whether local or national, from putting on-duty city employees in their ads.

“They’re trying to cover themselves, if you will,” Crane said. “Quite frankly, I think they would do the same thing if Clinton’s campaign was doing that, or at least they should."

Crane said his union, the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, and its national counterpart, the National Association of Police Organizations, have not endorsed a candidate for president. However, the Fraternal Order of Police, a different national police union, has endorsed Trump.

Mayor Greg Stanton, a Democrat who has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, issued a press statement urging the Trump campaign to comply with the city’s list of demands.

“The letter speaks very strongly for itself,” Stanton said. “The Trump campaign should cease and desist immediately.”

The ad has aired in 12 television markets, including Phoenix, and has been viewed more than 308,000 times on YouTube. The New York Times called it Trump’s “first commercial of the general election that is uplifting in tone.”

Holm closed his letter with a stern warning for Trump: “The Phoenix city manager has authorized me to pursue all legal remedies necessary to stop the Trump campaign from using the city’s intellectual property.”

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