“While investigations stack up, leadership rolls out staged unity photos and calls it progress.”

Summary: In a recent photo op, Phoenix VA Health Care System (PVAHCS) Executives and Police Leadership scraped up Black officers like leftovers just to stage a picture proving they’re “not discriminatory”—all while multiple EEO civil rights investigations continue to stack up against them and a long history of discrimination hangs over the department.

Now the real question isn’t the photo. It’s this:

• Who's actually going to be the next supervisor?

OPTICS OVER ACCOUNTABILITY

In what can only be described as the most desperate PR Hail Mary since someone tried to explain away a Title VII race discrimination violation by serving Steak & Egg Burritos, the PVAHCS 's Executive Leadership and its beloved VA Police Leadership proudly hosted what can only be described as an “unity event.”

The Goal?

To prove they are definitely not discriminatory. Like, aggressively not discriminatory. Please stop asking.

The Evidence?

A newsletter photo op featuring every single Black officer they could scrape out of the bottom of a nasty couch for newsletter diversity duty.

Sources Say Only A Few Black officers Were Missing.

One was probably on leave preparing the next EEO complaint (yes...more formal complaints are coming).

The other was reportedly busy polishing his résumé and plotting his escape like it’s Shawshank.

But hey. Optics over reality, right?

THE BACKDROP: A BONFIRE OF LAWSUITS AND EEO COMPLAINTS 

For those just tuning in, PVAHCS "Executives" and Police Leadership are currently named as RMOs (Responsible Management Officials). For those not fluent in EEO jargon, that means the ones being "blamed." And no, EEOs aren’t just limited to line supervisors—it can go all the way to the top (Executives, Assistant Secretaries, and Directors). The department is currently sitting on multiple EEO civil rights investigations and lawsuits (SEE HERE). Not one. Not two. Multiple. With an “s.” Like it’s a damn subscription service.

Same Leadership, Same Conduct, Same Outcome

And yet somehow, the very same leadership under which the discrimination occurred in the Police Department is still… leading—after allowing discrimination against a former Black officer and keeping the discriminator in supervisory authority with zero demotion (READ ABOUT IT HERE). This isn’t separate incidents or different players—this is all the same individuals. Because apparently nobody cares when a Black man alleges discrimination—except, in this case, it was VA’s own lawyers, who concluded the agency discriminated. 

And the alleged discriminator?

• Still in a supervisory role. Still collecting a paycheck. Still in "Power."

You truly can’t make this up. But they can definitely stage a photo about it.

THE PHOTO OP: “WE HAVE BLACK LEADERSHIP (THEY’RE JUST POWERLESS AND HAVE NO SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY)”

The event itself was a masterclass in performative nonsense.

There they were. A handful of Black officers—scraped up from the bottom of a refrigerator for the newsletter, as if pulled out of a box—smiling next to leadership like it’s a hostage photo but with better lighting and a Canva filter.

And if you look at the actual photo from the newsletter, it tells you everything you need to know.

Leadership is front and center. Talking. Leading the conversation. Running the room.

Everyone else? Positioned around them.

• Not leading.
• Not directing.
• Not in charge.

Just present—visible for the shot, invisible for the authority.

Which brings us back to the headline:

• Scraped up for the picture.
• Still none in charge.

Now let’s play everyone’s favorite game:

"Spot. The. Power."

• Supervisory?
  Same faces. Same smiles. Same power.
• Black officers?
  Present. Counted. Positioned.
  Holding exactly zero power or authority.

Because why would they?

“YOU’RE OUR NEXT SUPERVISOR” — TRANSLATION: “BLACK SUPERVISOR”… NEVERMIND

It’s not like Phoenix VA Police has a long, proud history of promoting Black leadership - with "actual power." In fact, leadership will hype you up right until you stop playing along. According to sources in the department, they told a potential Black supervisor (the one they unlawfully discriminated against), “you’re our next supervisor,” right up until he showed he had his own mind. Then suddenly the tone changed—no longer the “right fit,” no longer favored. Funny how independence becomes a problem the moment it comes with intelligence. Around here, leadership isn’t the issue—"power" is. And if you don’t fit the script, neither will your promotion.

THE UPCOMING GS-8 SUPERVISORY “LIEUTENANT” SPECIAL PROMOTION 

Now let’s talk about that Lieutenant "Supervisory Police Officer" position—closing on April 9th.

You know. An actual leadership, supervisory role.

Except—plot twist—it got downgraded to a GS-8.
That’s right. They took a command position and gave it the pay scale of a Wendy’s night shift manager.

Funny how that works. Back when the "Buddy System" was in full swing and the department was flooded with "R.O.T.," people were sliding into similar roles at a GS-9. Now? Suddenly it’s a budget issue.

Nothing screams “we value leadership” like shrinking the job right before you fill it.

Out of these four positions, the whole department is watching like it’s a rigged game show:

• Will they finally promote a Black officer?

The Catch-22: 

Here’s the part nobody in leadership wants to say out loud: they boxed themselves into this.

• Don’t promote a Black officer, and it confirms exactly what the investigations already suggest—same system (with "proven 'racial' discrimination against Black officers), same outcome.
• Do promote one, and it looks like a last-minute PR patch to stop the bleeding and officers lose the little hope that may have had in Police Leadership.

Damned if you do, "exposed" if you don’t.

After 25 years of not having one, this isn’t a decision—it’s a spotlight. And with multiple EEO civil rights investigations stacking up, every move now reads like evidence.

CHOOSE YOUR FIGHTER: DIVERSITY EDITION

If they do promote Black officer, let’s be honest about the options:

Option A: "The Token"

Calm. Quiet. Non-threatening.
The human equivalent of a nod.

The kind of supervisor who hears “we value diversity” and responds with “thank you, sir” while accepting a participation trophy, a stale donut - and immediately placed on Night Shift.

• Will not challenge anything.
• Will not question anything.
• Will absolutely pose for the next newsletter.

Option B: The Problem (aka "the Honest One")

The one who walks into the first meeting and says:

“So we’re just gonna ignore the discrimination findings and pretend this place isn’t a dumpster fire wrapped in Title 7 violations—and pretend management officials can have substantiated racial discrimination and sexual harassment and still avoid demotion or termination?”

Yeah. That guy.

Spoiler alert:

• Leadership does NOT want Option B.

They want someone safe. Someone quiet. Someone who understands the assignment:

• "Look diverse, don’t act powerful."

THE NEWSLETTER: A LOVE LETTER TO TOKENISM

Of course, the event was immortalized in the official newsletter.

Because nothing fixes systemic issues like a PDF.

The invisible captions were exactly what you’d expect:

• “Diversity”
• "Equity,"
• “Inclusion”

As loud opponents of D.E.I., this photo op isn’t DEI—it’s B.E.I.:

• Black Employee Inclusion (for the camera only - keep them out of power)

What they forgot to include:

• No Black officers were promoted during this event.
• No systemic issues were addressed.
• No leadership accountability was harmed.
• No discussion about the active civil rights investigations—including one from a former Black officer.
• No mention of the "Short Latina Officer" who reported sexual harassment in July 2025 by a supervisor with substantiated sexual and racial ("African American") harassment (that’s right, we'll continue bring light to this—eyes are watching how that case turns out).

But look at the smiles. Please focus on the smiles.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Let’s stop pretending.

• This wasn’t unity.
• This wasn’t progress.
• This wasn’t even subtle.

This was a last-ditch, sweat-soaked, pants-around-the-ankles attempt to convince everyone—especially EEO investigators—that everything is fine while the same old "Good Ol’ Boy System" keeps humming along like nothing ever happened.

These “unity events” are just staged photo shoots, showing how desperate PVAHCS Executive and Police Leadership are and how their credibility is in the gutter.

This newsletter is one step above government-issued toilet paper.

And honestly? That might be giving it too much credit.

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VA POLICE CHALLENGE: DO YOU ACCEPT?

If anyone can get us the name of that Black Supervisory Police Officer, it would be a appreciated. One our representatives will track him down (if he's still alive) to interview him. He supposedly worked at the facility around 1999 or 2000.

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READER NOTICE

Concerned Citizens Media encourages readers to independently verify the information contained in this publication, including through public records, official sources, or AI-assisted research tools. For additional information or clarification, readers are encouraged to contact appropriate Department of Veterans Affairs officials or their local VA facility directly.

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DISCLAIMER

Any attempt to retaliate against current or former VA employees, officers, contractors, or witnesses for engaging in protected whistleblower or EEO activity related to the matters discussed herein may constitute a violation of federal law, including 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(8)–(9), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and applicable VA anti‑retaliation policies. Documentation, reporting, or public discussion of substantiated misconduct, harassment, discrimination, or policy violations is protected activity.