Arizona Sheriff May Face Criminal Charges

Photo: Chris Curtis / Shutterstock.com

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona is famous for his hard stance on convicts and illegal immigrants. In the six terms he has served as sheriff, he has relegated prisoners to living in tents in the state’s terrible heat and has ramped up immigration patrols and racial profiling.

One example of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department’s racial profiling is the repeated harassment of Latino drivers during traffic stops. Those stops were made specifically for the purpose of harassing those individuals, and continued even after a court ordered the stops to end.

Now Arpaio could face criminal charges: An Arizona judge found him and some of his employees in contempt for numerous cases of lying to the court in order to cover up wrongdoing by deputies. The judge maintains that these actions were specifically to obstruct investigations into wrongdoing and negligence by the sheriff’s office.

While the findings do not mean that a criminal case will be filed, the judge has asked the Unite States attorney’s office to do exactly that. Should such a case go through, it would likely end the sheriff’s long, if questionable, career.

As an elected official, Arpaio has faced re-election at various points and has usually ramped up his rhetoric and actions in order to retain his “law and order” voters. In November, he will be running for a seventh term as sheriff. Most of the money he has raised has come from out of state, as he is a favorite of Trump supporters and other hardline conservatives around the country.

Arpaio’s office is responsible for numerous violations of civil rights, and he has been fighting an uphill battle to stay out of trouble for his actions as the state tries to distance itself from its previous reputation as incredibly hostile to immigrants and even established citizens who happen to be Latino.

What do you think? Will Sheriff Arpaio end up going to trial? Please share your thoughts in the comments.