I’ve probably written a couple hundred diaries about Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s illegal and unethical shenanigans, including:
That’s an incomplete list, but even the culture of corruption hinted at here resulted in guilty verdicts for racial profiling and civil contempt of court, while most of the sheriff’s cronies have been indicted, disbarred or fired. Arpaio himself is still facing a criminal contempt charge that could land his butt in the clinker.
The inmate murders, false arrests, immigrant fear-mongering and other boneheaded tactics have also cost the people of Maricopa County more than $142 million in lawsuits, and up to $250 million when you factor in Arpaio’s other financial boondoggles. Whatever the final figure, it’s a big number for the most sued public official in America.
On top of all this corrupt BS, Arpaio’s just not a good lawman. During the crazy 2010 tea party heyday, while he was cheerleading for SB 1070 and arresting teenage burger flippers from Mexico, violent crime increased. In its Pulitzer Prize-winning series “Reasonable Doubt,” the East Valley Tribune reported that fighting real crime suffered because of Arpaio’s hard-on for rounding up undocumented immigrants.
In sum: Joe Arpaio is a convicted criminal, an unethical racist, an expensive government official, and he’s not very good at his job.
Invariably when I travel — whether to another state or another continent — someone asks me about Arizona’s blowhard bigot with a badge. What other county sheriff is known nationwide if not internationally? Happily, after living in Arpaio’s police state for nearly a quarter century, the people of Maricopa County can breathe again — knowing that the color of their skin will not land them in jail, subject to cruel, immoral and unconstitutional policies.
So, here’s a final Arpaio diary, short and sweet, just called by the Arizona Republic:
Paul Penzone: 55
Joe Arpaio: 45