Arpaio Sued by Feds

[SuperDuper! 230]

PHOENIX – The U.S. Justice Department sued Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Thursday, saying the Arizona lawman refused for more than a year to turn over records in an investigation into allegations his department discriminates against Hispanics.

The lawsuit calls Arpaio and his office's defiance "unprecedented," and said the federal government has been trying since March 2009 to get officials to comply with its probe of alleged discrimination, unconstitutional searches and seizures, and jail policies that discriminate against people with limited English skills.

Arpaio had been given until Aug. 17 to hand over documents the federal government first asked for 15 months ago.

Arpaio called the Justice Department actions harrassment at a news conference Thursday morning in downtown Phoenix. His office has said it won't hand over additional documents because federal authorities haven't said exactly what they were investigating.

....

The lawsuit said the department is investigating police practices and jail policies but did not specify the documents sought in its dozens of requests. It was filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix and names Arpaio, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and the county.

Arizona's new law — most of which a federal judge has put on hold — mirrors many of the policies Arpaio has put into place in the greater Phoenix area. Arpaio believes the inquiry is focused on his immigration sweeps, patrols where deputies flood an area of a city — in some cases heavily Latino areas — to seek out traffic violators and arrest other offenders.

Critics say his deputies pull people over for minor traffic infractions because of the color of their skin so they can ask them for their proof of citizenship.

Arpaio denies allegations of racial profiling, saying people are stopped if deputies have probable cause to believe they've committed crimes and that it's only afterward that deputies find many of them are illegal immigrants.

Full Story

[The_Dude 1,142]

I think people tend to forget that sheriff is a publicly elected position, not a merit based one. Hence Sheriff Joe's career.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

You know what, think about what you just said. If that was even remotely true then the Feds would lnot be "suing" him. They would have already arrested him if as you say he was "personally" responsible for deaths.

So then why were victims families awarded damages out of the Sheriff's own pocket?

Why else are there numerous allegations about his staff concealing/disposing of evidence and intimidating people who ask questions. It's all out there in th public domain, you can look it up.

[Atencio 43]

So then why were victims families awarded damages out of the Sheriff's own pocket?

Why else are there numerous allegations about his staff concealing/disposing of evidence and intimidating people who ask questions. It's all out there in th public domain, you can look it up.

I am willing to believe what you say is true. As I said though, if it is true why are the Feds going after him for that instead of the little stuff they are doing. You tell me why they are not if it is all out there for everyone to see?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I am willing to believe what you say is true. As I said though, if it is true why are the Feds going after him for that instead of the little stuff they are doing. You tell me why they are not if it is all out there for everyone to see?

Have a read up on the guy. There are a lot of things his department has been accused of including obstruction of justice and "losing" evidence.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

I think people tend to forget that sheriff is a publicly elected position, not a merit based one. Hence Sheriff Joe's career.

one of the most highly scrutinized positions at that. If you're doing a bad job, then you won't be there very long...

[gyi 1]

What country on the face of the earth does not have immigration laws? We have a bunch of thugs in Mexico crying civil rights and racism, an excellent example of the pot calling the kettle black!

[The_Dude 1,142]

one of the most highly scrutinized positions at that. If you're doing a bad job, then you won't be there very long...

It's a political job more than anything. It's a popularity contest, not a referendum on job performance, unless the sheriff has some sort of colossal ** up.

[DukeOfYork 28]

What country on the face of the earth does not have immigration laws? We have a bunch of thugs in Mexico crying civil rights and racism, an excellent example of the pot calling the kettle black!

Most countries, including Mexico, actually enforce their immigration laws.

Suing Sheriff Joe is just a political stunt designed to keep peoples' eyes away from the border where the Mexican Drug Cartels are beginning to encroach on, and in effect, have taken over the southern parts of Arizona. All this incompetent president and his cronies can do is send 30 National Guard troops and place up some warning signs.

[Pooky 3,362]

New evidence undermines feds' case against Arizona

By: Byron York

Chief Political Correspondent

September 2, 2010

You've heard a lot about the Justice Department's lawsuit to stop the new Arizona immigration law. But that's just one part of the Obama administration's multi-front war on immigration enforcement in Arizona.

In addition to the drive to kill the new law, Attorney General Eric Holder is also suing the Maricopa Community College system in Phoenix, alleging it broke the law by requiring a job seeker to provide a green card before being hired. And on Thursday the Justice Department filed suit against the Maricopa County Sheriff's office, run by the flamboyant Joe Arpaio, as part of an extended investigation into alleged civil rights violations there.

Despite the splash of attention from the newest lawsuit, the Justice Department's investigation of Arpaio could end badly for Holder. When the Department first informed Arpaio that a probe was under way, back in March 2009, it sent a letter saying the investigation would focus on "alleged patterns or practices of discriminatory police practices and unconstitutional searches and seizures." But now we learn that just six months before that, in September 2008, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, known as ICE, did its own investigation of Arpaio's office -- and gave it a clean bill of health. Arpaio's lawyers recently got a copy of the ICE report through the Freedom of Information Act.

ICE officials evaluated how the sheriff's office performed under a law that allows specially trained local law enforcement officers to enforce parts of federal immigration law. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, which is the largest sheriff's office in the Arizona, has 189 officers who have been trained by ICE to enforce federal immigration statutes.

The report, crammed with acronyms and bureaucratese, is not light reading. But struggle through it, and the key sentence is this: "The OI and DRO supervisors consider the conduct and performance of the MCSO ... officers to be professional and meeting the requirement of the MOA." Translated, that means officials from the Homeland Security Department's Office of Investigation (OI), along with officials from the Detention and Removal Operations office (DRO), concluded that the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO), in its handling of illegal immigrants, acted in a professional manner and complied with a memorandum of agreement (MOA) under which the government gave them the authority to enforce federal law. That agreement included a ban on racial profiling.

ICE investigators also interviewed top federal officials involved in illegal immigrant cases in Arizona. They found an "excellent" working relationship between the sheriff's office and the feds. ICE talked as well to federal prosecutors in Phoenix, who described the cases brought by Maricopa County as "high quality."

In all, it's a quite positive assessment of an operation that just six months later would come under the Justice Department's microscope for alleged civil rights violations. It also lends indirect support to Arpaio's contention that the Justice Department investigation is politically motivated.

A tidbit of information contained in other government documents released under the Freedom of Information Act also suggests politics may be involved. Arpaio's lawyers found a March 11, 2009, e-mail, sent just after the Justice Department investigation was announced, from an ICE employee to John P. Torres, then the acting assistant secretary of ICE. "Did you see this?" the e-mail said, attaching a news report on the investigation. "Yes," Torres responded a few minutes later. "Interesting politics at play."

What happens now? It's been nearly a year and a half since the investigation began, and the Justice Department has not charged the sheriff's office with violating anyone's civil rights. Instead, Thursday's lawsuit goes after Arpaio for allegedly failing to cooperate fully in the probe.

"It's a totally political lawsuit," says Bob Driscoll, a former Bush Justice Department Civil Rights Division official who is representing Arpaio. "They want to find evidence of discrimination, but all they're finding is evidence of law enforcement that includes immigration enforcement." (The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.)

Failing to find proof of real discrimination in Maricopa County could ultimately doom the administration's entire crusade in Arizona. The much-publicized suit against the new immigration law is based on the possibility that it might result in future discrimination, but at the same time the department is struggling to find evidence of civil rights violations in Arpaio's office, which uses enforcement techniques similar to those outlined in the new law. There's a real chance that in the end Obama's war on Arizona will come to nothing.

Byron York, The Examiner's chief political correspondent, can be contacted at byork@washingtonexaminer.com. His column appears on Tuesday and Friday, and his stories and blogposts appear on ExaminerPolitics.com.

Washington Examiner link

So, this is just another piece of political grandstanding by Eric Holder, wasting taxpayer's money pursuing a publicly elected law enforcement official who has the overwhelming support of his electorate, and what amounts to a testimonial on his operating methods from ICE.

This has nothing to do with the law itself, but everything to do with preventing enforcement of it. All this from the very person appointed by the President to oversee enforcement of our laws. Tell me, where's the sense in that?

Edited September 3, 2010 by Pooky

[twowls 217]

I am willing to believe what you say is true. As I said though, if it is true why are the Feds going after him for that instead of the little stuff they are doing. You tell me why they are not if it is all out there for everyone to see?

Just research a bit. The feds are suing him for obstructing their investigation. He's pretty much the only state guy in history to simply ignore the government's requests for info and cooperation. His m.o. is acting like he is accountable to nobody, and like Arizona is his own private wild west. All blindingly arrogant civil rights abusing maniac rampages must come to an end sometime. He's had his fun and people have died. Reality check time.

[twowls 217]

perhaps they shouldn't have done something to get taken into custody in the first place?

Because everyone who has ever been arrested is guilty and deserving of torturous conditions. Arpaio runs a jail, not a prison. If that whole fundamental human rights, presumption of innocence thing means anything to you. Wait, don't answer that.

[twowls 217]

Joe Arpaio is a true American hero who is not afraid to stand up to federal tyranny.

Proper name abstract noun general assertion abstract concept!!!

The guy isn't a concept; he's a civil servant. He's failed to fulfill his duty as sheriff, which is why the outstanding warrant roster in AZ is out of control. He's failed at his job because he decided to launch a crusade instead. You may enjoy that, but he can't just Not do his job. That's not how it works, even if you have given him a shiny medal that flashes TRUE AMERICAN HERO in red white and blue.

[mawilson 2,133]

He's pretty much the only state guy in history to simply ignore the government's requests for info and cooperation. His m.o. is acting like he is accountable to nobody, and like Arizona is his own private wild west.

And we need more guys like him. The Federal government is out of control - Washington runs the states like its own private wild west.

Edited September 4, 2010 by mawilson

[twowls 217]

And we need more guys like him. The Federal government is out of control - Washington runs the states like its own private wild west.

I don't even know how to respond to this. It's pure Talking Point. No, we don't need every sheriff to ignore his job requirements and cherry pick his causes unilaterally, to the detriment of his serving the rest of his duties. No, we don't want people in power who think they are above the law.

When we have that, we get a lot of abuse. Many of us are not fans of being abused by uniforms on a power trip. I suppose you think that only those on the fringes would ever be on the receiving end of mistreatment. That's not so.