By GottaLaff
The police chief in Maricopa County Arizona, Joe Arpaio, could be sanctioned by a federal judge after checking that the controversial sheriff's office shredded documents related to a lawsuit that accused him of racial discrimination.District Judge of the United States, Murray Snow said there was enough evidence to punish Arpaio, known as "the toughest sheriff in U.S.
By GottaLaff
As conflicts between Maricopa County's Board of Supervisors and the sheriff and county attorney escalated in 2009, rank-and-file county employees were plunged into a yearlong emotional roller coaster. [...]And how fearful were they?
The grand jury is looking into allegations of abuse of power by Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his chief deputy, David Hendershott, in their dealings with judges and county officials.
Now, as they wait to see what will happen, a cross-section of county employees spoke with The Arizona Republic [...] [R]unaway fears were such that they worried that Arpaio's deputies would come after them as well.
Not enough for you?Unsure what or whom to believe, many county workers quit talking about sensitive matters on the telephone or in e-mails, even when using their personal home computers.
Conversation in hallways and elevators stopped.
Some feared they would be arrested while pulling into the same parking garage where deputies took Supervisor Don Stapley into custody.
Others worried that even minor infractions - a chipped windshield, having a beer before driving home after work - would be an excuse for deputies to pull them over or arrest them.
One Superior Court judge moved meetings with her staff and other judges to the chamber restroom, believing it would be a less likely spot for a listening device.
One employee was so rattled she could barely speak.Oh, it gets worse:
Isham told his wife to be careful. No U-turns. Never leave the kids in the car when returning videos. Who knows what they might call child endangerment?Budget supervisor, Ryan Wimmer:
"Everything I do," he said, "I just assume it will be used against me."Let's hope all of this will be used successfully against Sheriff Lunatic. This is beyond belief.
What a wonderful idea Fox!! A reality show about a facist, racist bully. Alert Lou Dobbs!!
HOLLYWOOD, California (CNN) -- Reality television featuring law enforcement officers on the beat is nothing new. A show featuring a lawman who makes jailed inmates wear pink underwear and uses actors to trick suspects, however, is a new twist.More here.
Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio -- whose showy brand of justice has raised charges of discrimination and civil-rights abuses while making him a hero among fans of his tough-on-crime attitudes -- will star in "Smile: You're Under Arrest."
The show, which premiers this weekend on Fox Reality Channel, features Arpaio and other officers using elaborate ploys crafted by comedy writers and carried out by professional actors to arrest suspects with outstanding warrants.
(snip)
But Arpaio's critics aren't amused.
They say they fear the show will give the controversial sheriff positive publicity, ignoring what they call a darker side to his 16-year tenure as top lawman in the county that includes Phoenix.
"It's going to celebrate a sheriff that's frankly scaring this community, a sheriff that has seen violent crime increase significantly in his county, a sheriff that is racially profiling the Latino community, and I doubt that the show is going to reflect that," said Paco Fabian, spokesman for the immigrant-rights group America's Voice.
A state civil-rights panel is recommending that, because of racial-profiling complaints, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors end a contract with the federal government that allows the county Sheriff's Office to enforce immigrations laws.
The Arizona Civil Rights Advisory Board also is asking federal officials in Washington, D.C., to investigate the Sheriff's Office for possible civil-rights violations during the enforcement of immigration laws. Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon made a similar request earlier this year.
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