Yihyun Jeong

The Republic | azcentral.com

A vigil and a community event are planned Friday at a Mesa church, the first to remember the death of a Navajo woman at the hand of a police officer and the second to discuss police relations with the Phoenix-area's minority communities.

The vigil aims to apply pressure to the U.S. Department of Justice, which agreed to conduct a federal investigation into the death of Navajo woman Loreal Tsingine, who was shot in March by Winslow Officer Austin Shipley.

The vigil, led by the Bordertown Justice Coalition, is planned before a community forum inside the church.

The forum, titled "Conversation With Cops,” will be hosted by Pastor Andre Miller of the New Beginnings Christian Church. It is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Friday at the church, at 1844 E. Dana Ave., Mesa.

The forum is the second panel created by Miller to bring together representatives of law enforcement, policy makers and members of the communities in face-to-face discussion.

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, former East Valley NAACP President Dr. Helen Hunter, Apostle Dr. Paula Hines of RPH Ministries, Tempe Police Chief Sylvia Moir and Mesa police and Arizona Department of Public Safety representatives were among those expected to attend, Miller said.

"We need to have a discussion about these recent shootings and the current status of our relations," Miller said. "We can't go back in time and change things that have already happened. But we can sit together and talk — speak with those who can make a difference so that we can take the practical steps to stop a Native American woman being shot by an officer, or a black man getting killed."

Miller said he extended an invitation to the Bordertown Justice Coalition to participate when he heard that the group planned to hold a vigil outside the church for Tsingine and to protest against the law enforcement agencies inside that declined to press charges in her death.

"I thought, 'How can I help them in what they pursue to do?'" he said. "I want to open doors that weren't open to them before so they can have a voice, too."

The Bordertown Justice Coalition sprang up as a response to Tsingine’s death, but its undertaking is one that has deep roots in its community: concern about police violence against Native peoples in Arizona.

The coalition initially had declined to participate in the forum but later accepted. Brian Benally, an organizer of the group, will take part in a discussion to give voice to the treatment of American Indians in towns that border the Navajo Nation.

Majerle Lister, a spokesman for the Bordertown Justice Coalition, said, "There needs to be accountability for the systemic racism among our Arizona officials. We're hoping this brings pressure for the independent review for Loreal that we've been promised. We will remind them that we didn't forget what needs to be done."

On Easter Sunday, Winslow police said Tsingine, 27, had brandished a pair of scissors at Shipley in an exchange that took place a few blocks from a Circle K where a clerk had reported a shoplifting. Shipley approached Tsingine, who fit the robber's description, and attempted to take her into custody when police said she fought back.

Shipley drew his gun and fired five times, killing Tsingine.

The group was critical of Montgomery, who declined to prosecute Shipley for killing Tsingine after reviewing an investigative report on the shooting. Montgomery and Arpaio have used their positions of power to "unapologetically harm" indigenous peoples and non-white immigration communities in Arizona, the group contends.

"Our main focus and priority is Loreal and the marginalized communities," Lister said. "But, if the public chooses to vote (Montgomery and Arpaio) out, we'd be happy to see them go."

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office did not respond to requests by The Arizona Republic for comment.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety investigated the shooting at the request of the Winslow Police Department. The agency concluded its investigation in early June, handing over its findings to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office for an independent prosecutorial review at the request of the Navajo County Attorney's Office.

Montgomery announced July 22 that no charges would be filed against Shipley.

The U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division announced in late July that it would investigate the shooting after tribal officials and activists urged federal officials to look into the treatment of American Indians in towns that border the Navajo Nation.

No statement from the Justice Department has been made since the announcement, nor any visible investigation. The Justice Department did not respond to requests by The Republic for an interview.

Native Americans represent 0.8 percent of the U.S. population but account for nearly 2 percent of all fatal police shootings, according to the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, a non-profit organization that studies incarceration and criminal-justice issues. Native Americans are most likely to die at the hands of police, with African-Americans ranking only slightly less as victims, the organization reported.

About 4 percent of Arizona's population is Native American.

Shipley remains on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a police internal-affairs investigation, which is being conducted by the Mesa Police Department.

"The Mesa Police Department has a duty to investigate Officer Shipley’s conduct at the Winslow Police Department," Lister said. "If he won't be charged, he needs to be fired immediately for killing Tsingine and all his other wrongdoings."

Reach the reporter at yjeong@arizonarepublic.com or follow her on Twitter @yihyun_jeong.