pineinthegrass wrote: When I first posted in the thread, it was in regards to the main accusation made in the original post. The link provided appeared to be a hit job because it attacked Arpaio because some of his deputies were arrested, but it made no mention of the fact that they were arrested due to Arpaio's own investigation. To me, that was irresponsible reporting.
Now there are many other accusations as well. My question is are these politically motivated and coming from the left (because Arpaio is hated by the left), or is there any substance to them? Let's see if any of them stick.
I'm reminded of Sarah Palin, not that I'm any fan of hers. My understanding is there were some 26 complaints or lawsuits filed against her, largely for political reasons, and not one of them succeeded. I wish I could find an article which covers them all, but all I can find is this statement from her attorney...
http://www.facebook.com/notes/sarah-palin/swing-and-a-miss/383652698434
From what I see of the complaints against Arpaio, some appear to be serious. I haven't seen the guy interviewed much, and have no personal experience with him. So I'll accept the statements by SG and archer that they have major issues with the guy. He doesn't sound like the type I'd look for as my Sheriff, he's too much of a publicity hound, IMO.
But I'll ask, have any of these charges been proven yet?
Arpaio has had a few of the charges against him substantiated, and judges have found him guilty, but the federal investigations are on-going.
auditors found that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office took $99 million in tax money that was supposed to fund jails and improperly spent it on roundups of suspected illegal immigrants and investigations of the sheriff's political foes.
Then a federal judge ruled that Arpaio's deputies violated the constitutional rights of a legal immigrant and his U.S. citizen son by detaining them for several hours during one of the sheriff's controversial immigration raids.
Most significantly, Arpaio's longtime second-in-command, Chief Deputy David Hendershott, resigned last week after an internal corruption inquiry found he violated department policies in supervising investigations of Arpaio's critics. Federal prosecutors are also investigating the allegations and whether the sheriff has abused his power.
I don't think this is all political since some republicans find themselves, if not afraid of the man, certainly wary of incurring his wrath.
, Arpaio had 56 county employees under criminal investigation. He sent deputies to the homes of low-level workers on weekends and arrested two county supervisors on charges that never stood up in court.
Don Stapley, a Republican and one of the supervisors arrested by Arpaio's deputies, said the sheriff had taken a milder tone lately and was clearly aware of the legal threat of the federal investigation of his office.
"There's a sense of relief, in general, but there continues to be real frustration among people that he's still there," Stapley said. "He's very wily and very popular, and that makes it difficult for anyone to challenge his authority."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... 4923.story
I actually don't quibble with some of his accomplishments, but his big campaign pledge was to reduce crime in Maricopa County, and that hasn't happened, though crime is down in the rest of Arizona.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s claims about illegal immigrants and violent crime have been pretty thoroughly debunked, but pro-reform non-profit America’s Voice takes it one step further, circulating a graph today indicating that Arizona’s SB 1070 could actually increase crime in the state. The graph shows rates of violent crime in Arizona jurisdictions from 2002 to 2009. Violent crime rates are all down — statewide numbers included — except for in Maricopa County, the jurisdiction of pro-enforcement Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Crime in Arpaio’s county has gone up 58 percent since 2002, according to America’s Voice data.
http://washingtonindependent.com/91520/ ... ios-county
My opinion is he spends too much time and money on trying to bust illegals that the rest of the criminals have a free run of the county, and that he has created a climate of fear of the sheriff's department in the county. That is unacceptable....respect, yes, fear, no.
