PHOENIX, March 3 (UPI) -- The chief of the Phoenix Police Department was sidelined Thursday pending a probe of allegedly inflated statistics on kidnappings, city officials said.
Public Safety Manager Jack Harris will not be involved in the day-to-day operations of the department until the city review is completed, City Manager David Cavazos announced at a news conference.
The city wants to check the crime reports from 2008 that Harris used to obtain a $1.7 million federal grant to be used to counter what was portrayed as a major surge in kidnappings and home-invasion robberies in the city. The Arizona Republic said federal auditors began taking another look at the statistics after a Phoenix police sergeant said the kidnapping stats were inflated.
Harris has denied any wrongdoing, although a department review announced Monday stated some of the reports indeed did not belong in the grant request; however, other reports that did belong had not been included.
Cavazos said Harris would retain his title and pay during the investigation, but his duties would be limited to emergency management, infrastructure other such areas.
