Although, Sheriff Joe has spent twenty years building his reputation as “ America’s Toughest Sheriff”, he will go down in history as “Americas Worst Sheriff” and he has only himself to blame. He likes to blame his problems on everyone but himself, the Feds, his partner in crime and once good buddy, Hendershott and President Obama.
"By their actions today, President Obama and a band of his merry men might as well erect their own pink-neon sign at the Arizona-Mexico border saying welcome all illegals to the U.S., our home is your home," Arpaio said late Thursday after federal officials had unveiled their findings.
But, the truth is, his blind pursuit of illegal brown people turned his county into one where lawlessness and lawsuits abound.
He relentlessly pursued an immigration enforcement policy that put on blinders to child rapists and molesters, over 40,000 outstanding felons, abuse and death in his jails, and corruption and flagrant disregard for civil rights in the department he supposedly runs. Course to hear him tell it now, it was all Hendershot and he knew nothing. Or he just doesn’t recall. But don’t believe it. He knows, he knows all too well.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio testified at former County Attorney Andrew Thomas' discipline hearing before the Arizona State Bar. Thomas is under investigation for using his office to retaliate against political foes like County Supervisors Mary Rose Wilcox and Don Stapley.
Under oath, Arpaio was unable to answer many questions asked about the details of the failed corruption investigations, repeatedly answering, "I don't recall," or, "I'm not sure."
"I was confused then, and I'm confused now. I didn't have all the facts," Arpaio said about the arrest of Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe.
"I never read the indictment," Arpaio responded when asked about the arrest of Supervisor Stapley.
"I don't recall the evidence," Arpaio said about the case against Supervisor Wilcox.
http://www.azfamily.com/...
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/...
Joe's own words and deeds, the testimony of his former subordinates, indeed the record of his 17-year reign as Maricopa County's top cop, all suggest that if Hendershott is guilty of the corruption described in Munnell's memo, then, if anything, Arpaio is guiltier.
"Joe knows everything that goes on," Tom Bearup, Arpaio's right-hand man before Hendershott's ascension told me. "Because I've been there. And I know that nothing goes on in that office without [Joe's approval]. Every policy he initialed. Anything major that happened, people would go and tell him, because they felt intimidated."
Bearup, who was Arpaio's Chief Executive Officer from 1993 to 1997, once ran against Arpaio for sheriff and is now a pastor in Alaska. He's borne witness against Arpaio on several occasions and doesn't swallow the line that Arpaio was out of the loop.
"In the staff meetings, it was Joe that would belittle people," Bearup explained. "Hendershott's just a little Joe, that's all."
He has built in AZ a special hell that he envisioned for people arrested for mostly minor crimes. The people in his tent cities are not hard core criminals, but low level arrestees, most serving less than a year.
The Maricopa County Jail ls the worst jail facility in the Country, which was deemed condemned and unclean, where inmates are starved and neglected.
Getting Medical treatment is often impossible and when a Life Threatening Medical Emergency arises, The Detention Officers often ignore any plead for help from inmates, justifying in their own mind that the "Inmate shouldn't have come to jail."
This isn't a prison, it's a county jail, which means the inmates there are
INNOCENT people who have not yet gone to trial. In fact, only a very small percentage of the inmates there have been convicted and sentenced, which is about 20% and they are housed outside in the smoldering desert heat in tents that have no air and it reaches temperatures in the triple digits. Please be aware, that this small percentage of convicted inmates are serving time for a "MISDEMEANOR" charge, usually traffic violations, driving on a suspended license, failure to pay a fine, failure to appear in court, or trespassing, dog unleashed, littering, or jay-walking, simple misdemeanor charges, meaning petty... non-violent and non dangerous.
In many ways, the compound is the ultimate reflection of Arpaio, the controversial five-term county sheriff who is often accused of valuing publicity more than prudent law-enforcement policy. Tent City was a fresh idea when first proposed, bringing with it a combination of austerity and retribution that appealed to Arpaio's supporters. It has since survived riots, inmate deaths, lawsuits and legal challenges as it has come to epitomize Arpaio.
Some of the sheriff's critics can't believe the tent compound is still around, much like the sheriff himself.
"It surprises me it's lasted as long as it has. It's not delivered any of its promises except for publicity," said Phoenix attorney Mike Manning, who has fought numerous legal battles with the Sheriff's Office and won millions in settlements and jury verdicts for former inmates.
"When I've said these types of things before Arpaio is quick to say that I and others want to coddle criminals. The issue isn't that at all. In our country the constitutional and the humane punishment of criminals is to deny them their freedom, imprison them and try to rehabilitate them," Manning said. "There is no entity in our country where it's permitted to punish people by unnecessarily creating pain, and he goes out of his way to unnecessarily create pain and he relishes it. He advertises it. He boasts about it."
The inmates who live in the tents have all been sentenced to less than one year in jail for their crimes and must be classified as minimum- or medium-security risks.
http://www.azcentral.com/...
50 million lost in lawsuits and counting, over 400 child molesters not pursued, 40, 000 outstanding warrants, a hundred million dollar mistake in his budget. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Then there are the people he and Andrew Thomas, Dave Hendershott and his deputies harassed, and pursued into courts of law on bogus charges because they dared to speak out about his bad policies. And, the civil rights of thousands of Hispanics stomped on, and sometimes their heads.
Hundreds of citizens and leaders have called for Arpaio to resign but he remains defiant. He puts himself ahead of the good of the county and the state of Arizona.
Roughly 100 opponents of Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio turned out at a meeting of Maricopa County officials Wednesday to urge the officials to call for his resignation amid reports of botched sex-crime investigations and other problems in his department.
Critics of Arpaio — known nationally for describing himself as “America’s Toughest Sheriff” — say he must be forced out for failing to adequately investigate more than 400 sex-crimes cases in the county, inappropriately spending $103 million from two jail funds over an eight-year period for other operations and leading failed corruption investigations against county officials who were at odds with the sheriff.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
If Sheriff Joe remains defiant and refuses to do the right thing by resigning, the government might have to make the decision for him.
If the sheriff refuses to back down, experts on law-enforcement practices said, the result is likely to be a courtroom battle and a takeover of his agency.
"If he remains combative, he's highly likely to end his career with the department under federal oversight," said Scott Greenwood, an attorney who handled a similar case in Cincinnati.
http://www.azcentral.com/...
Sometimes, I believe the only way Maricopa county will change will be when they are driven into bankruptcy by their bankrupt Sheriff Joe.
Popularity in life might have its place, but being sheriff of one of the largest counties in America demands more than popularity. It demands responsibility and being held accountable.
Sheriff Joe will not be remembered for being the toughest sheriff, he will be remembered for abuse of civil rights, lawsuits, tent cities, corruption and cost of millions to taxpayers. Was the popularity worth it Maricopa County?
