| Joe Arpaio | |
|---|---|
| Arpaio speaking in Phoenix on February 26, 2011 | |
| Maricopa County Sheriff | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 1, 1993 |
|
| Preceded by | Tom Agnos |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joseph M. Arpaio June 14, 1932 Springfield, Massachusetts |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Ava Arpaio |
| Occupation | Sheriff |
Joseph M. "Joe" Arpaio (born June 14, 1932) is the elected Sheriff of Maricopa County in the U.S. state of Arizona. First voted into office in 1992, Arpaio is responsible for law enforcement in Maricopa County. This includes management of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, county jail, courtroom security, prisoner transport, service of warrants, and service of process. Arpaio styles himself as "America's Toughest Sheriff."[1][2] He is well known for his outspoken stance against illegal immigration.[3] Arpaio has become a flashpoint for controversy surrounding Arizona's SB1070 anti-illegal immigration act.[4]
Arpaio was once widely popular among voters in Arizona.[5] However, his popularity has waned since 2007, but remains positive among registered Republicans.[6][7]
Arpaio was born in Springfield, Massachusetts to Italian parents both from Avellino, Italy.[8] Arpaio's mother died while giving birth to him, and Arpaio was raised by his father, a grocery store owner. Arpaio completed high school and worked in his father's business until age 18 when he enlisted in the United States Army.[9] Arpaio served in the Army from 1950 to 1954 in the Medical Detachment Division and was stationed in France for part of the time as a military policeman.[10]
Following his discharge in 1954, Arpaio moved to Washington, D.C. and became a police officer, moving in 1957 to Las Vegas, Nevada. He served as a police officer in Las Vegas for six months before being appointed as a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, which later became part of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).[11] During his 25-year tenure with the DEA, he was stationed in Argentina, Turkey and Mexico, and advanced through the ranks to the position of head of the DEA's Arizona branch.[12]
In 1992, Arpaio successfully campaigned for the office of Maricopa County Sheriff. The voters of Maricopa County re-elected him in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008.[13]
Arpaio married his wife, Ava, in 1958. Together they have two children and four grandchildren.[14] They currently reside in Fountain Hills, Arizona.[15]
In late 2008 and early 2009 Arpaio appeared in Smile...You're Under Arrest!, a three-episode Fox Reality Channel series in which persons with outstanding warrants were tricked into presenting themselves for arrest.[16]
On June 9, 2011 Sheriff Arpaio was interviewed on Fox News on KSAZ-TV about a song on iTunes titled, "F#@K Sheriff Joe" by Contraband, describing him on his deathbed battling his own mortality.[17]
Arpaio's practices include serving inmates surplus food[18] and limiting meals to twice daily.[19] He has also banned inmates from possessing "sexually explicit material" including Playboy magazine after female officers complained that inmates openly masturbated while viewing them or harassed the officers by comparing their anatomy to that of the nude models in the publications. The ban was challenged on First Amendment grounds but upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.[20]
In February 2007, Arpaio instituted an in-house radio station he calls KJOE.[21] Arpaio's radio station broadcasts classical music, opera, Frank Sinatra hits, patriotic music and educational programming. It operates from the basement of the county jail for five days a week, four hours each day.
In an ongoing case, federal judge Neil V. Wake ruled in 2008 and 2010 that the Maricopa County jails violated the constitutional rights of inmates in medical and other care related issues.[22][23]
Arpaio set up a "Tent City" as an extension of the Maricopa County Jail.[24] Arpaio has described Tent City as a concentration camp.[25] Tent City is located in a yard next to a more permanent structure containing toilets, showers, and an area for meals.[26] It has become notable particularly because of Phoenix's extreme temperatures.
On July 2, 2011, when the temperature in Phoenix hit 118 °F (48 °C), Arpaio measured the temperature inside Tent City at 145 °F (63 °C). Some inmates complained that fans near their beds were not working, and that their shoes were melting from the heat.[27] During the summer of 2003, when outside temperatures exceeded 110 °F (43 °C), Arpaio said to complaining inmates, "It's 120 degrees in Iraq and the soldiers are living in tents, have to wear full body armor, and they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your mouths."[28] In 1997, Amnesty International published a report on Arpaio's jails which found that Tent City is not an "adequate or humane alternative to housing inmates in suitable . . . jail facilities."[29] Tent City is criticized by groups contending that there are violations of human and constitutional rights.[30] Those critical of Arpaio also point out that the vast majority of inmates within Tent City have not been convicted; rather, they are merely awaiting trial.[31] Arpaio's claim that these inmates committed crimes, they argue, reflects Arpaio's contempt for the American Constitution and the explicit right it grants to a "presumption of innocence."
In 1995, Arpaio reinstituted chain gangs. In 1996, Arpaio expanded the chain gang concept by instituting female volunteer chain gangs.[32] Female inmates work seven hours a day (7 a.m. to 2 p.m.), six days a week. He has also instituted the world's first all-juvenile volunteer chain gang; volunteers earn high school credit toward a diploma.[33]
One of Arpaio's most visible public-relations actions was the introduction of pink underwear, which the Maricopa County Sheriff's website cites as being, "world-famous."[34] Arpaio subsequently started to sell customized pink boxers (with the Maricopa County Sheriff's logo and "Go Joe") as a fund-raiser for Sheriff's Posse Association. Despite allegations of misuse of funds received from these sales, Arpaio declined to provide an accounting for the money.[35]
Arpaio's success in gaining press coverage with the pink underwear resulted in his extending the use of the color. He introduced pink handcuffs, using the event to promote his book, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, America's Toughest Sheriff.[36]
In 2001, Arpaio was the first sheriff to require all inmates aged 18 and over to register for the Selective Service System. Registration is required by federal law for all U.S. males between 18 and 26 years of age, as well as for resident aliens of the same age, regardless of their immigration status. Since 2001, a total of 28,000 inmates (including 9,000 aliens) have registered for Selective Service.[37][38]
The Sheriff also started the "Have a Heart" program in which inmates may volunteer to be organ donors.[38]
Building upon Maricopa County's 50-year-old program, Arpaio expanded the all-volunteer citizen posse through heavy recruiting. The volunteers perform many duties for the sheriff's office:
In November, 2010, Arpaio created an armed illegal immigration operations posse, to help his deputies enforce immigration law. Members of this posse include celebrity actors Steven Seagal, Lou Ferrigno, and Peter Lupus.[39]
Arpaio has been a controversial sheriff. Arpaio's practices have been criticized by organizations such as the United States Department of Justice, United States District Courts, Amnesty International,[40] the American Civil Liberties Union, the Arizona Ecumenical Council, the American Jewish Committee,[41] and the Arizona chapter of the Anti-Defamation League.[42] The editorial board of The New York Times called Arpaio "America's Worst Sheriff".[43] Controversial issues surrounding Arpaio have included allegations of racial profiling, in which the ACLU has sued the sheriff.[44][45]
U.S. District Court Judge Neil V. Wake ruled in 2008, and again in 2010, that the Maricopa County jails violated the constitutional rights of inmates in medical and other care related issues.[22][23] This ruling was a result of a lawsuit brought by the ACLU, which alleged that "Arpaio routinely abused pre-trial detainees at Maricopa County Jail by feeding them moldy bread, rotten fruit and other contaminated food, housing them in cells so hot as to endanger their health, denying them care for serious medical and mental health needs and keeping them packed as tightly as sardines in holding cells for days at a time during intake."[46]
In a ruling issued in October, 2010, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Arpaio to follow U.S. District Court Judge Neil Wake's 2008 ruling, which required Arpaio to end severe overcrowding and ensure all detainees receive necessary medical and mental health care, be given uninterrupted access to all medications prescribed by correctional medical staff, be given access to exercise and to sinks, toilets, toilet paper and soap and be served food that meets or exceeds the U.S. Department of Agriculture's dietary guidelines.[47][48][49][50]
In March, 2009, the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division began an investigation of Arpaio amid accusations of discrimination and unconstitutional searches and seizures. The investigation was conducted under the authority of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids discrimination related to programs that receive federal funds. On July 7, 2009, Arpaio held a press conference, and announced that he would not cooperate with the investigation, either by providing documents, or permitting interviews with personnel. On September 2, 2010, the Department of Justice filed suit against Arpaio,[51] to compel his cooperation with the investigation. A spokeswoman for the Justice Department stated that it was unprecedented for an agency to refuse to cooperate with a Title VI investigation, and that this is the first time the Justice Department has sued to compel access to documents and facilities.[52][53][54] The suit was settled in June, 2011, after Arpaio allowed federal officials to interview Sheriff's office employees, and review hundreds of thousands of documents for the investigation.[55] [56]
On December 15, 2011, the U.S. Justice Department released their findings after a three-year investigation of Arpaio's office amid complaints of racial profiling and a culture of bias at the agency's top level. The report stated that under Arpaio, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has "a pervasive culture of discriminatory bias against Latinos" that "reaches the highest levels of the agency."[57]
The Justice Department accused Arpaio of engaging in "unconstitutional policing" by unfairly targeting Latinos for detention and arrest, and retaliating against critics.[58] In the report, a Justice Department expert concluded that Arpaio oversaw the worst pattern of racial profiling in U.S. History.[59]
Based on the Justice Department report on discriminatory policing practices within the MCSO, on December 15, 2011, the United States Department of Homeland Security revoked the MCSO's federal authority to identify and detain illegal immigrants.[60]
In a separate action, on December 23, 2011, U.S. District Court Judge G. Murray Snow enjoined Arpaio and the MCSO from "detaining any person based only on knowledge or reasonable belief, without more, that the person is unlawfully present within the United States," halting anti-illegal immigration enforcement by MCSO in its current form.[61]
A federal grand jury has been investigating Arpaio's office on criminal abuse-of-power allegations since at least December 2009 and is specifically examining the investigative work of the sheriff's anti-public corruption squad.[62]
In February 2010 Judge John Leonardo of Pima County Superior Court found that Arpaio "misused the power of his office to target members of the (Board of Supervisors) for criminal investigation."[63]
In 2008 a federal grand jury began an inquiry of Arpaio for abuse of power, in connection with an FBI investigation.[64][65] Arpaio is being investigated for politically motivated and "bogus" prosecutions, which a former US Attorney called "utterly unacceptable".[64][65] Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon has called Arpaio's "long list" of questionable prosecutions "a reign of terror".[65]
The targets of Arpaio's alleged abuse of power have included or currently include: Phil Gordon, Phoenix Mayor;[64] Dan Saban, Arpaio's 2004 and 2008 opponent for the office of Sheriff of Maricopa County;[64] Terry Goddard, Arizona Attorney General;[64] David Smith, Maricopa County Manager;[64] The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors;[64] Barbara Mundell, Maricopa Superior Court Presiding Judge;[64] Anna Baca, former Maricopa Superior Court Presiding Judge;[66] Gary Donahoe, Maricopa Superior Court Criminal Presiding Judge[64] Daniel Pochoda, ACLU attorney;[64] Sandra Dowling, former Maricopa County School Superintendent;[65] Mike Lacy, Editor, Phoenix New Times.[65]
To date (July 10, 2010) of the above only Sandra Dowling has been successfully prosecuted.[65] Indicted on 25 felony counts, Dowling eventually pled guilty to patronage for giving a summer job to her daughter, a single class 2 misdemeanor which was not among the original counts, although as part of the plea bargain she also agreed to recuse herself from the Maricopa County Regional School District. Dowling has since filed suit, alleging negligence, malicious prosecution, abuse of process and several constitutional violations.[67]
Over the two years prior to September, 2010, feuding between Arpaio and former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas on one side, and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors on the other side cost at least $5.6 million, most of which was paid to private attorneys. Arpaio and Thomas filed several lawsuits against the Board of Supervisors, including a federal civil-racketeering suit against the supervisors, four judges and attorneys who work with the county. Arpaio and Thomas lost every case, either by ruling of the courts, or by dropping the case.[68]
In early 2010, Arpaio and Thomas sought to have a grand jury indict a number of Maricopa County Judges, Maricopa County Supervisors, and employees of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. The grand jury, in an unusual rebuke, ordered the investigation ended. This action has been described as meaning that "...the case is so bad, there's no further evidence that could be brought [to substantiate it]". Legal experts agree this is a rare move.[69] Thomas and a subordinate attorney on his County Attorney staff face a hearing later in 2011 before the Ethics Committee of the Arizona Bar, the result of which could be a number of sanctions up to permanent loss of their law licenses.
In November and December, 2010, lawsuits naming Arpaio were filed by Judge Gary Donahoe, retired Maricopa County Superior Court judges Barbara Mundell, Anna Baca, and Kenneth Fields, County Supervisor Don Stapley, Deputy County Manager Sandi Wilson, and Susan Schuerman, executive assistant to Supervisor Don Stapley.[70][71][72][73][74][75] Conley Wolfswinkel (a business associate of Stapley) filed suit in January, 2011.[76][77] Other targets of Arpaio's investigations, including Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox,[66] and Maricopa Deputy County Manager Sandi Wilson[69] have filed notices of claims (the precursor to filing suit) totalling about $56 million dollars.[69]
During the month of July 2010, a committee established by Arpaio, the Campaign to Re-Elect Joe Arpaio 2012, funded advertisements critical of Rick Romley, a candidate in the Republican Primary for Maricopa County Attorney and Arizona Attorney General candidate Tom Horne, despite the fact that Arpaio is not currently running for re-election (his term does not expire until the end of 2012).[78]
An order issued on the behalf of the Maricopa Elections Department on August 24, 2010, found that one of the advertisements, a direct mailer, advocated the defeat of Romley, and was an in-kind contribution to Bill Montgomery (Romley's primary election opponent), in violation of Arizona election law. The order stated that the Campaign to Re-Elect Joe Arpaio 2012 will be fined three times the amount of money that was spent on the mailer.[79] In September, 2010, Arpaio's campaign was fined $153,978 in this matter.[80] Montgomery ultimately defeated Romley in the primary election, with Romley stating Arpaio's ads "hurt" his results.[81]
An analysis by the Maricopa County Office of Management and Budget, completed in September, 2010, found Arpaio has misspent almost $100 million in taxpayer dollars over the previous 5 years.[82][83]
The analysis showed that money from a restricted detention fund which could only legally be used to pay for jail items, such as food, detention officers' salaries and equipment, was used to pay employees to patrol Maricopa County.[82] The analysis also showed that many Sheriff's Office employees, whose salaries were paid from the restricted detention fund, were working job assignments different from those recorded in their personnel records. Arpaio's office kept a separate set of personnel books detailing actual work assignments, different from information kept on the county's official human-resources records.[83]
Arpaio used the detention fund to pay for investigations of political rivals, and activities involving his human-smuggling unit.[82][83]
The analysis also showed a number of inappropriate spending items, including a trip to Alaska where deputies stayed at a fishing resort, and trips to Disneyland.[83][84]
Separate investigations by The Arizona Republic uncovered widespread abuse of public funds and county policies by Arpaio's office, including high-ranking employees routinely charging expensive meals and stays at luxury hotels on their county credit cards.[85]
The Republic also found that a restricted jail enhancement fund was improperly used to pay for out-of-state training, a staff party at a local amusement park, and a $456,000 bus, which was purchased by Arpaio in violation of county procurement rules.[82][86]
In September, 2010, a 63 page internal memo, written by Maricopa Deputy Chief Frank Munnell, was made public. The memo alleged years of misconduct and mismanagement by Arpaio's second in command and other top MCSO officers, including the use of a public-corruption task force to conduct politically motivated probes into political opponents. The memo alleged that top officials in the MCSO "willfully and intentionally committed criminal acts by attempting to obstruct justice, tamper with witnesses, and destroy evidence."[87] Arpaio forwarded the memo to the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, requesting they conduct an administrative investigation. Former top MCSO staffers have claimed that Arpaio knew of the acts alleged in the Munnell memo, but took no action to stop them.[88] Arpaio has not commented publicly on the allegations.
In October 2010, the US Attorney for Arizona confirmed that the FBI and Department of Justice have received copies of the Munnell memo, and are conducting criminal investigations into its allegations.[89]
| 2000 Maricopa County Sheriff's Office election, Arizona[90] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Joe Arpaio (incumbent) | 572,063 | 66.49 | n/a | |
| Democratic | Robert Ayala | 227,055 | 26.39 | n/a | |
| Independent | Tom Bearup | 60,401 | 7.02 | n/a | |
| n/a | Write-in candidate | 825 | 0.1 | n/a | |
| Majority | 345,008 | 40.1 | n/a | ||
| Turnout | 860,344 | ||||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||
| 2004 Maricopa County Sheriff's Office election, Arizona[90] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Joe Arpaio (incumbent) | 642,923 | 56.74 | -9.75 | |
| Democratic | Robert Ayala | 347,981 | 30.71 | +4.32 | |
| n/a | Steven W. Martin | 142,296 | 12.56 | n/a | |
| Majority | 294,942 | 26.03 | -14.07 | ||
| Turnout | 1,133,200 | +31.71 | |||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||
In November 2007 a group calling itself Arizonans for the U.S. Constitution and Recall of Joe Arpaio filed the paperwork to begin an effort to recall Arpaio and County Prosecutor Andrew P. Thomas from office for allegedly disobeying and violating the United States Constitution and abuse of power.[91] Their petition to get a recall question for the two officials onto the next general election ballot failed when the group was unable to collect the more than 200,000 registered voter signatures required.[92] In a survey taken by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, while the petition was in circulation, nearly three out of four respondents opposed the recall, and 65 percent of the respondents held a positive opinion of Arpaio.[93]
| 2008 Maricopa County Sheriff's Office election, Arizona[90] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Joe Arpaio (incumbent) | 730,426 | 55.2 | -1.54 | |
| Democratic | Dan Saban | 558,176 | 42.2 | ||
| Libertarian | Chris A.H. Will | 35,425 | 2.7 | ||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||
| Civic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tom Agnos |
Sheriff of Maricopa County 1993–present |
Incumbent |