Phoenix council members joke about another council member's outspokenness of law enforcement

PHOENIX - It's been a few weeks now, but a holiday video produced by the city of Phoenix shows two council members seemingly poking fun at another council member.

Carlos Garcia of District 8 is known to be vocal about Phoenix Police officer-involved shootings, and a local activist group says the two council members in this video seem to make light of the issue.

It's a 10-minute video that's been up since Dec. 20. Council members Nowakowski and Guardado are looking for Christmas gifts to buy for their colleagues. For Garcia, they get him a shirt saying "I love Phoenix PD."

The remarks begin at the 6:22 mark. 

The video may seem light-hearted to some, but others are taking offense. 

To understand what some council members call a "joke," you need to know Garcia's past interactions with Phoenix Police. Last June, he voted no on a contract to replenish ammunition and less-than lethal weapons for the department.

"After last week, there was no way I would have voted for anything to continue to support the police until we fix the issues we have," Garcia said during the vote.

He once wore a shirt that says "End police brutality" at a council meeting. 

Last September, body cam video shows Garcia pulled over by ASU police receiving a citation for a suspended license plate and no insurance. Garcia tells the officers he's concerned about them being out of their jurisdiction. 

Volunteer, Luke Black, with Poder in Action says Nowakowski and Guardado's joke isn't landing.

"If you're joking around about that, that says something about who you are and it says something about who you're listening to and what your intentions are to actually represent your constituents who are actually being impacted by police violence," Black said.

Council member Sal Diciccio responded to this story via social media, saying in part, "The two councilmembers who did this did it as a joke, it is insane there is a story on something as stupid as this. Political correctness and the cancel culture is babyish."

We reached out to all three council members Garcia, Nowakowski and Guardado, and we have not heard back.