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3 arrested in Mill Avenue bridge protest over police accountability concerns

Police confirmed that three people were arrested on the Tempe bridge, but did not provide further information.
Credit: 12 News

PHOENIX — Three people were arrested Thursday after participating in a protest to close the Mill Avenue Bridge in Tempe over police transparency and accountability concerns. 

Tempe Police Department spokesman Officer Aaron Levi confirmed that three people were arrested, but did not provide further information. 

Reverend Jarrett Maupin led the protest near Mill Avenue and Rio Salado Parkway on Thursday afternoon, where a group of people stood with signs that memorialized victims. 

Officers initially blocked the bridge from traffic, putting patrol vehicles at either end of the bridge and broadcasting messages telling protesters that they were breaking the law by obstructing the roadway. 

Maupin said in a press release that the protest was to "denounce the lack of transparency and accountability in Valley police departments around sensitive cases."

Several victims of police brutality, including the young family at the center of a now-viral video where several Phoenix police officers pointed guns and yelled profanities at them over an alleged shoplifting incident, reportedly participated in the protest. 

RELATED: Family involved in viral police encounter wants Phoenix officers prosecuted

The protest came after Tempe police released body-camera footage of Dravon Ames, the father involved in the Phoenix incident, when he was arrested in 2018 for allegedly assaulting two police officers. 

PREVIOUSLY: Video shows the contentious 2018 arrest of Dravon Ames, who is now demanding two Phoenix cops be fired

Maupin's press release said many interpreted the release of the "violent and controversial arrest" as a "'sick' attempt by local police to demonize and criminalize an innocent man."

"We just want answers and accountability," Maupin said in the press release. 

"These families want justice to flow like a river and righteousness like a mighty stream. We want the truth."

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