MESA, Ariz. — Mesa police said the FBI has notified the department of an investigation into the use of force in two arrests for possible civil rights violations.
In one of the arrests, officers were captured on camera repeatedly punching 33-year-old Robert Johnson, the friend of a suspect in a domestic violence call.
An investigation by Scottsdale police concluded that the officers were within their rights.
"It was hard for Scottsdale to do an independent investigation on their fellow sister city. We hope that the FBI will help clean up the Mesa Police department and give justice to Robert Johnson," Benjamin Taylor, Johnson's attorney, said in a statement.
The FBI is also looking into the arrest of Gabriel Mark Ramirez Jr., who was arrested near Country Club Drive and McLellan Road. Police did not say when Ramirez was arrested or what the probable cause for arrest was.
The FBI also previously notified Mesa police that the bureau is investigating the fatal officer-involved shootings of Daniel Shaver in January 2016 and of Scott Farnsworth in September 2017.
According to a report from the Maricopa County Medical Examiner, Shaver, who was unarmed at the time, was shot in the chest, leg, face and twice in the back.
After Mesa police officer Philip Brailsford was acquitted in Shaver's death, body camera video of the shooting was unsealed. The video shows the moments that led up to the shooting, including Shaver allegedly reaching for his waistband.
Scott Farnsworth, 28, was shot near Skyline High School and died on the scene, Mesa police said. According to his Facebook page, Farnsworth was a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq.