Suns arena security lapses revealed in field tests

PHOENIX — A lawsuit filed by a Suns security employee alleges PHX Arena has failed multiple security assessments and claims the arena is “highly vulnerable.”

12News obtained three of those field test reports, which all show undercover assessors were able to bring weapons into the venue.

A Phoenix PD spokesperson said venues request tests and they are conducted by plain clothes officers part of the department’s Homeland Defense Bureau.

In December 2023, records show one of those field tests occurred at a Suns game. During that test, security personnel successfully detected a small folding knife on one of the undercover officers after the detector went off. The officer was escorted to a secondary screening and after offering multiple excuses, the knife was found.

However, two others on that same team successfully snuck in knives.

In one case, the report says the knife was in his pocket and after being deferred to secondary screening, he gave security an excuse and was allowed to go inside.

Another undercover officer had a medium-sized knife on his person and during a secondary screening, the prohibited weapon was not detected.

Records show another field test was conducted two months later. This time, it was done by a private investigations firm. The audit, again, revealed security vulnerabilities.

An assessor armed with a knife managed to make it through a security check. That assessor also had pepper spray, another prohibited item.

Another field test was done in December 2024 and was conducted by a Phoenix PD Homeland Defense Bureau field intelligence team.

In this test, plain clothes officers were able to bring in guns.

Records show one person armed with a 9mm pistol made it through secondary screening after telling the employee there was a metal rod in their leg. The security employee did not wand them after learning that, according to the report.

A second undercover assessor also managed to bring in a 9mm pistol after it was missed during a secondary screening.

12News outlined the findings from all three reports and requested a response from the Suns organization.

A Suns spokeswoman provided the following statement:

“The Supreme Court of Arizona has twice disciplined attorney Sheree Wright for committing numerous violations of the rules of professional conduct, and she is currently serving a two-year probation with the State Bar of Arizona. The Court noted that the State Bar of Arizona and Ms. Wright agreed that she suffered from “inexperience in the practice of law” and “personal or emotional problems.” But neither inexperience nor probation stopped Ms. Wright from leveling false allegations against the Phoenix Suns.

This time, Ms. Wright and her client have made absurd accusations of misconduct surrounding the security department of the Phoenix Suns. These allegations are delusional and categorically false. Ms. Wright initially filed these ridiculous claims with regulators but voluntarily withdrew them.

The Suns will not be extorted and will seek to hold Ms. Wright and her accomplices fully responsible for their actions.”

Stan Kephart is a police and security practices expert. 

“Oftentimes, we find that technology, while good, is not being operated correctly, which is a person failure,” Kephart said. “That is attributed to training.”

The February 2024 report lists recommendations to prevent future breaches. It includes staff training, screening equipment calibration, and regular audits.

Kephart agrees and said facilities like PHX Arena should be doing frequent training sessions to ensure security staff stay vigilant.

“All it takes is one failure. We have to be one hundred percent effective. The other side can take advantage of that one percent and a tragic event could have occurred from that failure,” Kephart said.