Richard Ruelas, and Graig Graziosi

The Republic | azcentral.com

The Rev. Jarrett Maupin announced on Tuesday night a plan for a protest that would shut down the intersection of 24th Street and Camelback Road in Phoenix on Friday afternoon.

Maupin did not disclose the exact time of the Biltmore-area protest. He said it would be a sit-in and billed it as a Black Lives Matter demonstration.

"I don't want to give away the exact time because that takes away the element of surprise," he said.

Maupin made his announcement before what he billed as a community meeting at Eastlake Park to determine his movement's next steps.

MORE: Working with Black Lives Matter | Arrests, pepper spray, and an I-10 bluff

He began the meeting with a news conference before addressing a crowd of about 100 people gathered at a band shell just east of downtown Phoenix.

"We hope that by closing down traffic there, we can draw attention to our cause," he said.

Maupin led a protest march through downtown Phoenix on Friday evening that resulted in a brief but tense standoff with police officers after Maupin changed the route and said he would take protesters onto the freeway.

He later said the threat to go onto Interstate 10 was a ploy.

12 proposed reforms

While meeting with reporters Tuesday evening, Maupin released a list of 12 proposed reforms that he said he developed for the Phoenix Police Department.

The list includes the immediate deployment of body cameras for all officers, increased walking patrols, diversity training, and a recommendation that investigations of police misconduct be done by an outside agency.

At the same time Maupin was announcing his proposed reforms, the city was wrapping up a community meeting in north Phoenix to discuss changes to police policies proposed by a citizens’ commission that includes members of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The session was one of a dozen the city is hosting this month.

Maupin argued that while it was important for the public and the city to engage at community meetings, he believed a forum was necessary where the public could speak without police or city moderators present.

"These people out here want to speak and they don't want a filter," Maupin said.

Maupin's wish for an unfiltered meeting was granted as discussion broke down several times into shouting matches between a handful of dissenters in the crowd.

Some of those arguing with Maupin expressed disillusionment with marching, suggesting that their protests weren't a real solution and, instead, suggested some form of boycott.

Two other individuals with personal issues with Maupin derailed the discussion to the point that Maupin had to step away from the stage to address their concerns privately.

After the communication breakdown ended, order was eventually restored and the majority of the supporters broke up into small groups to discuss the 12-point proposal.

Shortening the time frame for body cameras

Maupin said his immediate goal is to pressure the city to shorten its time frame for equipping all police officers with body cameras, from three years to within a year.

He anticipates that it will be at least a year before the city fully addresses the concerns raised by his proposal.

It wasn't clear late Tuesday what, if any, obligation city officials have to review Maupin's 12 points.

Though the meeting ended on a positive note, the loss of control mid-meeting raised some concern for whether Maupin and his fellow organizers could effectively control the protest planned for Friday.

"Yes, we'll have total control over what happens on Friday," Maupin said. "You can't always control what happens at a public event, but we're going to inform the police about the people who caused disruptions today to make sure they know they aren't representative of this group come Friday's protest."

Maupin billed his meeting as a #BlackLivesMatterAZ gathering, but the chairman of Black Lives Matter Arizona said Maupin does not speak for the group.

Earlier in the evening, someone in the crowd asked Maupin about the seeming rift between himself and the official Black Lives Matter movement.

Maupin said he understood the group to be intentionally organized to be non-hierarchical. He said events like Friday's march and his meeting Tuesday did not need to be officially sanctioned to be valid.

"Raise your hand if you are going to wait for permission to do something," he said to the crowd.

No hands went up.