The other night I posted a diary about Sheriff Joe Arpaio's arrest of the Arizona civil rights leader Salvador Reza. Because the video of Reza's arrest arrived very late at night, I posted what I had, which was mostly the video and Stephen Lemons' article at New Times. During the night and the rest of the morning I updated as more information unfolded.
Here is what we knew then: Sal Reza is a well-known activist, the leader of the civil rights group Puente, which was one of the leading opposition voices to SB 1070. Along with dozens of other protesters, Reza was arrested for blocking traffic during the huge demonstration in Phoenix on Thursday, the first day of the "papers please" law. He and the others spent that evening in jail and were released Friday morning, not charged with anything. A condition of Reza's release was:
The defendant would not initiate contact of any nature with any of the alleged victim(s) and/or complainant, including arresting officers...
That's key: "initiate contact."
Later that same day, a group of Puente protesters blocked the entrance to one of Arpaio's training facilities on 35th Avenue, from which deputies were about to leave to conduct one of their sweeps, which are probably the most despised tactic that the Sheriff's Office uses. If you're not familiar with sweeps, here's a diary about their controversy and ineffectiveness.
As you see in the video, the small number of protesters intended to slow down the process, if only for a few minutes; they expected to be arrested and they were. Reza was not part of this group; he was standing across the six-lane 35th Avenue in a parking lot with several others – providing support to the protesters in the street, perhaps, but not part of blocking traffic. And he clearly did not "initiate contact" with any of the deputies. Still, as the video shows, about a half dozen or so armed men walked across 35th Avenue and arrested Reza - the only person in the parking lot they take into custody.
Here is what we know now: This morning New Times published a copy of the Sheriff's "Probable Cause" statement which, to no one's surprise, contains no probable cause. You can read the entire document at the linked article, but the key section seems to be:
The suspect, Salvador Reza, was observed directly west of the training center entrance on the west side of 35th Avenue. He was amongst several other protesting subjects.
[snip]
As Mr. Reza was actively participating in this protest and was present during this function while Captain Letaoureau was on the scene, the decision was made to take Mr. Reza into custody for violation of his terms of release.
So there you have it. It's not clear what "actively participating in this protest" means, but evidently as part of his terms of release, at least in Joe Arpaio's world, Sal Reza cannot participate in any legal gathering, even if he does not "initiate contact" with law officials, even if it is they who "initiate contact" with him. Merely being at an event, watching on the sidelines, standing while brown, is an offense. Reza spent Friday night in jail, and on Saturday morning he was again released without being charged. The prosecutor said, "I did not see that this rose to the level of probable cause."
Is it any wonder that this Sheriff has cost the taxpayers of Maricopa County more than $43 million in lawsuits, most of them filed for illegal arrests or inhumane treatment, even death, while in his custody? Several judges and county commissioners have also filed suit against Arpaio, after he went after them publicly and in court because they refused to sanction his police state tactics. Combine those lawsuits with other cases brought by people like former County secretary Sue Schuerman, whose life Arpaio's witch hunt has made a living hell, and there is currently more than $50 million in lawsuits pending. And he brags about how he saves taxpayers money by only spending 28¢ a day on prisoner meals.
The results of the federal grand jury into Arpaio's abuse of powers cannot come soon enough.