On November 26, 1942, a riot occurred in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, involving United States Army infantrymen, military police, and members of the Phoenix Police Department. The incident left three people dead and approximately a dozen injured.
At the time, Phoenix was experiencing an influx of soldiers as a result of World War II. One unit, the 364th Infantry Regiment, was stationed in the city in June 1942. This unit was composed entirely of African Americans, with the infantrymen experiencing racial discrimination. Such racial segregation was commonplace in Phoenix at the time.
On November 26, in celebration of Thanksgiving, infantrymen were allowed to leave their military base. At about 11 p.m. that night, military police (MP) attempted to arrest an infantryman who had become involved in a physical altercation with a woman at a venue in Downtown Phoenix. During the course of the arrest, MPs fired multiple shots, injuring at least one bystander. In the aftermath, some infantrymen returned to their base, told an exaggerated account of the event, and returned with weapons, prompting a firefight between MPs, infantrymen, and, later, local law enforcement officials.
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