Phoenix has agreed to pay up to $100,000 to settle a lawsuit stemming from a police encounter that began with a Wall Street Journal reporter trying to interview bank customers about interest rates and ended with him in handcuffs.
Dion Rabouin was working outside a Chase Bank in Phoenix on Nov. 23, 2022, when Officer Caleb Zimmerman responded to a trespassing call. Video that later drew national attention captured Rabouin repeatedly offering to leave while Zimmerman kept him detained.
The confrontation produced complaints, an internal police investigation and eventually a federal lawsuit. More than three years later, the Phoenix City Council approved payment of up to $100,000 to settle Rabouin’s claims.
Phoenix’s own review of the encounter reached a more complicated conclusion than the settlement alone suggests. Police cleared Zimmerman of Rabouin’s allegations of unlawful detention, race-based detention and excessive force, but found that the officer violated department search-and-seizure policy when he removed Rabouin’s wallet from his pocket.
The Price Tag
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The council adopted the settlement Sept. 9 in a unanimous 9-0 vote without discussion, according to ABC15. The item appeared among dozens of other matters on the council agenda.
Rabouin had been interviewing people outside the bank for a story about savings-account interest rates. ABC15 reported that he did not realize the sidewalk where he was standing was private property and said the bank had not asked him to leave before police arrived.
That point became part of a factual dispute surrounding the encounter. Phoenix’s later internal investigation records that the bank manager told Zimmerman that employees had asked Rabouin to leave and that he refused.
When Zimmerman contacted Rabouin, however, Rabouin offered to go. ABC15’s original reporting on the recorded encounter quoted him telling the officer, “I will walk away voluntarily.”
Instead, Zimmerman handcuffed him.
What Phoenix Found
The Phoenix Police Department’s final findings said Zimmerman legally detained Rabouin. The department rejected the allegations that the detention was unlawful, based on race or involved excessive force.
But while Rabouin was detained, Zimmerman reached into his pocket and removed his wallet to identify him. Police determined that action violated the department’s search-and-seizure policy.
The department also changed its trespassing policy after the case, clarifying the procedures officers should use when detaining someone for trespassing versus arresting someone for it.
A written reprimand would have been an appropriate response to the wallet search, the department acknowledged. Police instead required Zimmerman to undergo additional training, citing ambiguity in the policy and saying the incident did not involve malicious intent, repeat offenses or reckless or willful disregard of department rules.
Three Years Later
Rabouin’s attorney Ben Taylor told ABC15 the confrontation could have been avoided with a conversation rather than handcuffs. He said he hoped the settlement would send a message to Phoenix police about interfering with journalists doing their work.
The fallout had begun long before the lawsuit was resolved. Chase Bank and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego both apologized to Rabouin after video of the encounter became public.
The city ultimately faced Rabouin in federal court over the 2022 encounter. Its formal settlement item, identified as Rabouin v. City of Phoenix, authorized payment of up to $100,000 and was adopted by the City Council on Sept. 9, 2026.