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To: Stacey Scherpf Au.D., CCC-A | Associate Director of Operations | Phoenix VA Health Care System

Sexual Harassment & Abuse of Power at Phoenix VA Police: When Will It End?

The Phoenix Veterans Affairs Police Department — embedded within the Phoenix VA Health Care System — has become synonymous with silence, fear, and unchecked abuse.

For years, the department has been marred by documented incidents of harassment, including:

  • Supervisors cursing out subordinates
  • Yelling, intimidation, and verbal degradation
  • Vindictive schedule changes meant to disrupt officers' lives
  • Detailing and reassignments under false pretenses

And most disturbingly: a pattern of racial and sexual harassment, which the Department of Veterans Affairs itself has already substantiated

But what continues in the shadows is even more alarming.

🔻 THE UNACKNOWLEDGED PLAGUE: SEXUAL HARASSMENT & INTIMIDATION

Within this toxic environment, female officers — and some male officers — have suffered quietly.

They endure inappropriate behavior, lewd comments, and systemic intimidation. And the worst part? Everyone in power knows.

Executive leadership at the Phoenix VA has done nothing.
No meaningful reforms. No cultural reset. No protection for those who need it most.

Instead:

  • Whistleblowers are ignored or retaliated against
  • Victims leave in silence — transfers, resignations, or medical retirements
  • Numerous female officers have left the department entirely due to the hostile and intimidating work environment
  • Others remain and suffer in silence, tolerating mistreatment out of fear of retaliation, professional sabotage, or losing their livelihood
  • The culture of fear mirrors the same silence seen among many Black officers and other targeted staff who stay quiet to survive

🔺 THIS IS NOT JUST MISMANAGEMENT. THIS IS COMPLICITY.

The Phoenix VA has been told, warned, and notified again and again.
Still, the harassment persists.
Still, the offenders rise in rank.
Still, those affected suffer — in silence.

We ask:

🔹 How long will this go on?
🔹 How many more officers need to suffer in the shadows?
🔹 How long will VA leadership hide behind bureaucracy while lives are being destroyed?

This is a call to those who can make a difference:

Investigate. Intervene. Disrupt the culture. Protect those who serve within.

Why is this important?

Because sexual harassment has been normalized — and that normalization is dangerous.

At the Phoenix VA Police Department, female officers have quietly endured years of inappropriate comments, and power-driven intimidation from those in leadership. What should never be tolerated has instead become expected. A “don’t rock the boat” mentality has taken hold. And for many, silence feels safer than speaking out.

🚨 Female officers have left without ever filing complaints. Others remain, enduring the abuse quietly — not because they accept it, but because they fear retaliation, lost income, destroyed careers, or social exile from the tight-knit culture.

🚨 Some have confided in coworkers. Some have documented it. But few have ever received protection, and fewer still have seen justice.

This is not about one bad actor. It’s about a systemic culture that empowers those in rank to humiliate, isolate, and dominate subordinates with no meaningful consequences.

When sexual harassment is allowed to become routine, it destroys morale, it drives good officers out, and it tells survivors — men and women alike — that no one is coming to help them.

We are raising our voices because this ends when the silence ends.

#PhoenixVAPolice #CarlTHaydenVAMC #PVAHCS #PhoenixVAHealthcareSystem #VAHandbook0730 #38CFR1218 #VApoliceMisconduct

Updates

2026-01-16 10:40:47 -0500

A Challenge to Investigators and Leadership:

If ORM or the EEOC truly wants the truth about this department, interview female officers and female civilian staff under oath. Anything less will produce silence, not facts.

This is a workplace shaped by fear and retaliation. Without sworn testimony, many women will not speak honestly. Some will minimize. Some will stay quiet. Some will refuse to participate at all.

This challenge also applies to OSP leadership. When you are ready to act, you already know what must be done.

Investigators should also attempt to contact former female officers. Expect that some will not return calls or will decline to speak. That silence is not coincidence. It is evidence.

If the truth matters, remove fear from the equation.

2026-01-14 08:25:20 -0500

25 signatures reached

2026-01-07 19:39:24 -0500

Inside a Failed OIG Investigation: Records Show Phoenix Veteran Affairs Police Corruption — Case No. 2024-02060-HL-0660 — Referred to Their Own Oversight (OS&LE) and Cleared ("Non-Sustained")

https://archive.org/details/va-oig-hotline-case-2024-02060-hl-0660-complaint

2026-01-02 02:18:20 -0500

VA OIG Complaint: #2024-03707-HL-1220 (Firearm & Sexual Harassment)

FOIA records raise serious concerns about Phoenix VA Police oversight. A firearm incident involving a non-patient employee was handled under a patient-only policy exception, limiting scrutiny. A related Harassment Prevention Program complaint substantiated 3 of 4 claims, confirming misconduct.

This occurred three days after the April 1, 2024 VA police tragedy in Kansas. Despite multiple harassment complaints elevated throughout 2025 to VA leadership and oversight offices, records reflect minimal corrective action.
Read the documents here:

https://www.scribd.com/document/974782995/VA-OIG-Complaint-2024-03707-HL-1220-Firearm-Sexual-Harassment

2025-12-02 04:53:34 -0500

10 signatures reached

2025-11-28 08:32:15 -0500

It has become increasingly clear that the Phoenix VA Police Department treats its female officers differently than their male counterparts — especially in investigations, assignments, and disciplinary actions. Many female officers have reported working in fear due to ongoing harassment, retaliation, and unequal treatment.

Some have even gone so far as to change their sexual orientation just to avoid management’s advances and unwanted pressure — a sign of how severe and unacceptable the environment has become.

How long will this continue before OSP or the Phoenix VA Executive Leadership finally intervenes? The pattern is undeniable, the reports are consistent, and the harm to female officers is ongoing.

2025-09-18 05:53:49 -0400

📢 Update: This department is still running nonstop fact-findings 🔎 — case after case piling up 📂. The Harassment Prevention Program is overwhelmed, and management is frustrated because they can’t control the flood of complaints 🚨.

But here’s the real question: will they finally address the root cause and remove toxic management? 🛑👎 Until then, the cycle of harassment and retaliation just keeps repeating.

#VA #ToxicLeadership #Accountability #HarassmentPrevention #WhistleblowerProtection #WorkplaceJustice #NoFearAct #VeteransAffairs #LeadershipFailure #EndRetaliation