Phoenix Officer Placed on Leave After Report Alleged Attempt to Provoke Assault at Student Anti-ICE Protest
Chandler police report says the masked, armed sergeant tried to bait teenagers into an arrestable incident during a protest demanding justice for Renee Nicole Good and Alex Jeffrey Pretti.
Phoenix police placed Sgt. Dusten Scott Mullen on paid administrative leave after a Chandler Police Department report alleged he attempted to provoke student protesters into assaulting him at a Jan. 30, 2026, student-led anti-ICE protest. Phoenix Police Chief Matthew Giordano announced the leave April 10, saying the incident remains under investigation and that findings will be communicated publicly once finalized. Phoenix police also said Mullen was moved out of an enforcement assignment into a non-enforcement role before being placed on leave.
This is a public-safety story, not a “drama” story: a masked, armed officer allegedly inserted himself into a youth protest and tried to manufacture a pretext to arrest teenagers.
🎥 Video report on Phoenix Sgt. Dusten Scott Mullen and the Chandler Police Department report alleging attempted provocation at a student anti-ICE protest. (YouTube)
What the Chandler Report Says Happened
According to the Chandler police report, the Jan. 30 protest was part of a wave of student demonstrations in late January and early February demanding justice for Renee Nicole Good and Alex Jeffrey Pretti, who were killed by immigration officers in Minnesota. The report says Mullen arrived wearing a full face mask and armed with a pistol, and that students identified him as suspicious and possibly ICE.
When Chandler Officer Timothy Murphy approached Mullen, the report says Mullen was confronting the students and telling them to “grow up and act like adults.” Mullen claimed students struck his car with flags; Murphy noted he did not see that happen. The report also describes students following and chanting at Mullen because they believed he was an ICE officer, and later describes an incident where a juvenile threw or poured water/ice on him.
The Most Serious Allegation: A Stated Goal to Get Teens Arrested
The Chandler report attributes to Mullen a statement laying out an intent to let students “assault” him so police could arrest them, while it was filmed. If accurate, that’s not crowd control — it’s entrapment-by-escalation: creating danger and then using the danger as justification for arrests.
That matters even more because the crowd was high school students. A masked, armed adult attempting to trigger an “assault” narrative around minors turns a protected protest into a trap. It also chills future speech: students learn that showing up for justice can be met with covert intimidation tactics instead of public protection.
What Phoenix Police Have Said So Far
Chief Giordano said officers are held to higher standards and emphasized integrity, accountability, and community trust, saying he will share findings publicly once reached. Phoenix police have also said they were notified by Chandler police, reassigned Mullen out of enforcement duties, and then placed him on leave.
Phoenix police spokesperson Cmdr. Mercedes Fortune said Mullen had recently received First Amendment training and protest-response training. That detail doesn’t reduce the seriousness of the Chandler report — it raises the stakes. If the allegation is sustained, the question becomes: how did an officer trained on constitutional protections allegedly choose conduct that undermines them, and what structural failures allowed it to unfold in real time?
[INSERT PHOTO #2 HERE — Phoenix PD/Chief statement image]
Caption: Phoenix Police Chief Matthew Giordano announced Sgt. Mullen was placed on paid administrative leave while the investigation proceeds. (Source: department statement / reporting)
Why This Is an Anti-ICE Protest Story, Not a Side Detail
These students weren’t protesting “in general.” They were protesting ICE violence and demanding justice for two people killed by immigration officers. In that context, the report’s description that students believed the masked man was ICE is not surprising — it reflects the climate of fear created when immigration enforcement operates as a threat to community safety.
If a police sergeant can allegedly mask up, arrive armed, and try to bait minors into an arrestable moment at an anti-ICE protest, it signals something bigger than one incident: a willingness to treat dissent as an opportunity for punishment, not a right to be protected.
What to Watch Next
Phoenix police have promised a public communication of findings once the internal investigation concludes. The public should demand clarity on:
Whether the Chandler report’s account is sustained
What policies were violated (if any)
What discipline and accountability follow
What safeguards will prevent any officer — on duty or not — from escalating youth protests into criminalization events
When the setting is minors exercising First Amendment rights, the standard cannot be “close enough.” It has to be protective by design.
Americans Against ICE — Accountability & Protection
Students showed up to demand justice for Renee Nicole Good and Alex Jeffrey Pretti — and this report describes an officer allegedly trying to manufacture an arrest by provoking teenagers.
That’s what accountability has to look like: public, documented, and enforced.
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It's important to teach kids to let their position on things that matter be made public. It's basic civics. My grand was part of a BLM protest. My kids were taught to protest in elementary school. One of my kids was a keynote speaker at a MLKJr annual march.
They should never be subjected to the police state. That lesson is one we have to teach at home, and arm them with safety measures. That said, this is despicable. An armed adult trying to provoke kids. Thank goodness he didn't use his gun.
You need to clean up you facts a touch here. Phoenix and Chandler are two separate cities. While it’s common to share communication, Chandler is the relevant jurisdiction here