Mesa Police take over park ranger unit after ‘goon squad’ misconduct probe

PHOENIX – The Mesa Police Department has taken control of the city’s park ranger unit following an internal investigation into allegations of racial slurs, aggressive enforcement targeting Black and homeless individuals, and a failure to report a seized handgun.

What we know:

The misconduct probe, which began after three rangers were accused of unprofessional behavior, revealed some staff referred to themselves as the “goon squad” and even used a specific patch to identify the group. The fallout left the unit with only six rangers after four resigned and one retired during the investigation.

The transition to police oversight, which took effect in April 2025, introduces new accountability measures, including the mandatory use of body-worn cameras.

“Accountability is really important to us. It’s at the core of what we do as a police department,” Mesa Police Chief Dan Butler said. He noted that cameras must be activated for every community interaction, mirroring the department’s policy for sworn officers.

Dig deeper:

In addition to increased oversight, the department has replaced the unit’s “antiquated” tracking software with an updated Geographic Information System. The city has also standardized training and provided specialized vehicles and new uniforms—the latter of which were designed with input from the rangers to help rebuild public trust.

“They wanted everybody in the community to know that, hey, this is a different program; you can trust us,” Butler said.

The unit currently has six rangers and is hiring to reach a total of 14. Butler said the department utilized budget cost-savings to fund the new technology and equipment.