Mesa Police Chief Ramon Batista attempted to reform a scandal-ridden department in 2018 after a series of controversial police shootings and thena video that showed five officers physically assaulting an unarmed black man that spurred community outrage.

Now, dozens of officers are accusing Batista of pushing department morale to an all-time low by abandoning the rank-and-file in an attempt to appeal to the public.

The Mesa Police Association and the Mesa Fraternal Order of Police initiated a "no confidence" vote Friday, expressing their disapproval of Batista.

Union officials declined to comment further until the vote wraps up May 17. But, in a statement, they noted that all police employees were previously surveyed to "assess our current scenario and identify gaps that could be remedied."

Theresults of that survey, which Strategy 360 conducted over a two-week period in March, were provided to The Arizona Republic by a city employee.

Approximately 75% of respondents indicated they would rate the chief's and assistant chiefs' "work to achieve excellence in public safety" as poor over the past year. The survey does not ask specifically about the chief.

Eighty-four percent ranked the overall morale of the department as poor.

An introduction to the survey results says 530 of the more than 1,200 Mesa Police Department employees participated in the survey. Many harshly criticized Batista's performance in the comments section of the survey.

It's not clear what measures — if any — were taken to ensure the integrity of the survey. Multiple employees told The Republic there were concerns that some employees responded multiple times to skew the results.

"The chief is a liberal snowflake who cares more about public image than his officers. He is a cancer on this department," one employee griped. "His policies endanger officers and his conduct proves he has no spine."

"The dishonest and disturbing behavior by Chief Batista has brought disgrace and discredit to a once excellent police department," one respondent wrote. "The lack of leadership by the Chief has sent this department into a spiraling pit of the worst morale it has ever seen. The Chief runs this once great police department like a dictator and not a leader to be looked up to. I am ashamed to call myself a Mesa police officer with the current executive staff and more so with the current Chief of Police!"

"I can't wait for the day he leaves this department so we can get someone in charge who has our back," a respondent wrote.

Disapproval grew after Batista condemned 2 use-of-force incidents

Many of the officers claim in the survey that they were initially supportive of Batista when he was first appointed to the chief position in 2017.

Batista from the start was clear that his focus would be on transparency and improving the department's relationship with the community, including the city's growing Latino population.

"Building trust and legitimacy in the community is paramount to me. We will never be at a point where we think we don't have to (work) to that anymore. It's constant and ongoing, and we will always be working toward that end," Batista said in 2017.

Rank-and-file officers' opinions of him seemed to shift drastically after Batista condemned the officers involved in two use-of-force incidents. The first showed officers kneeing and punching an unarmed man repeatedly. The other depicted two officers roughing up a 15-year-old armed-robbery suspect after the boy was handcuffed.

Batista called the actions unacceptable and pledged change in a news conference last June. The comments were made before Scottsdale police investigated the cases and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office ultimately decided not to file any charges against any of the officers involved.

It's clear from the survey responses thatBatista's position was perceived as him abandoning his officers.

"Most of the low morale has to do with the Chief of Police's statements about officers 'losing their way,'" one survey responder wrote. "All of the officers, that I have spoken with, say that if he just would have said, 'The incident will be investigated,' they would have supported it."

Batista asked the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington, D.C., group that conducts law-enforcement research for police departments, to investigate the department's use-of-force incidents over the past three years. He also enlisted former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley to participate in internal-affairs investigations into allegations of excessive force.

In a February interview with The Republic, Romley highlighted several concerns with past record-keeping policies, including previous leaders encouraging the purging of use-of-force allegations from officers' files. He applauded Batista's commitment to addressing the issues head-on.

"In my mind, the chief is making heroic efforts to improve the department and has been so willing to make changes for the betterment of the department and the citizens of Mesa," Romley said.

Multiple survey responseslikened the subsequent internal-affairs investigations to a "witch hunt."

"The number of people on 'reassignment' for extended periods is beyond ridiculous. Having outside agencies AND privately hired review boards and consultants review use of force cases is beyond words," one responder wrote.

Others admitted they are looking for new jobs and wanted to return to the "old ways." Multiple employees also wrote they were displeased with random reviews of body-camera footage and a new policy that apparently limits ammunition to 50 rounds a quarter.

"(The policy) goes to show further proof this chief wants us to give hugs to everyone even when they are trying to hurt us or potentially put us in a life or death situation," one responder said.

"The chief cares more about community perception than facts and it's scary working for him," another said.

Batista has implemented a number of changes to training, including augmenting implicit-bias training, emphasizing critical decision making, de-escalation tactics and using non-lethal force options. He revised the department’s use-of-force policy to prevent officers from striking people’s faces or heads unless a suspect was being combative.

It's also easier for anyone to open an internal investigation for an excessive-force allegation online, over the phone by calling 480-644-2010, in person or through a notice of claim.

When news of the vote broke Friday, Batista said in a release that he's still confident he has the support of the community and elected officials. The city manager is the police chief's boss, and the mayor and City Council are the city manager's bosses.

"It is important to remember that their (the unions') agenda does not represent the entire Mesa Police Department," he wrote. "I’m committed to leading this department and I stand by my officers as they carry out their duties to protect and serve this city."

Do you support Chief Ramon Batista? Reach public-safety reporter Bree Burkitt at bburkitt@republicmedia.com or at 602-444-8515. Follow her on Twitter at @breeburkitt.

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