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View Full Version : Arizona sheriff launches new, controversial immigration sweep




bobbyw24
10-17-2009, 09:35 AM
PHOENIX — An Arizona sheriff known for cracking down on people who are in the country illegally launched a crime and immigration sweep in northwestern metro Phoenix on Friday, a half day after officials in Washington limited his powers to make federal immigration arrests.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose sweeps have led to allegations of racial profiling, said the rebuff from Washington won't stop him. He said he can still arrest immigrants under a state smuggling law and a federal law that gives all local police agencies more limited power to detain suspected illegal immigrants.

"It doesn't bother me, because we are going to do the same thing," said Arpaio, whose deputies had arrested 16 people by Friday evening on unspecified charges. "I am the elected sheriff. I don't take orders from the federal government."

The officers were participating in a federal program that grants a limited number of local police departments special powers to make immigration arrests and speed up deportation. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stripped Arpaio of his power to let 100 deputies make federal immigration arrests, but renewed another agreement that allows 60 jails officers to determine the immigration status of people in jail.

The sheriff's sweeps in some heavily Latino areas of metro Phoenix have drawn criticism that Arpaio's deputies racially profile people. Arpaio said people pulled over in the sweeps were approached because deputies had probable cause to believe they had committed crimes and that it was only afterward that deputies found many of them were illegal immigrants.

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Arpaio's office over allegations of discrimination and unconstitutional searches and seizures.

"He is doing this to thumb his nose at the Obama administration," said Lydia Guzman, president of the Hispanic civil rights group Somos America.

The sweeps have discouraged some Hispanics who have witnessed or been victims of crime to refuse to call Arpaio's deputies, for fear of mistreatment, Guzman said.

Observers who are part of Guzman's group fanned out across the area of the sweeps with video cameras to record exchanges between deputies and motorists.

Arpaio said volunteers will use cameras owned by his agency to video-record deputies so viewers can see for themselves that they weren't doing anything wrong. Arpaio responded angrily to a question during a news conference about the costs of the cameras, saying they were paid through seizures in drug cases. "Dope peddlers bought the cameras," Arpaio said.

A dozen anti-Arpaio protesters yelled throughout the news conference. At one point, they chanted: "Order equals K-K-K — here's what Arpaio has to say."

Kris Kobach, a law professor at the University of Missouri at Kansas City and an advocate of

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,567902,00.html

Reason
10-17-2009, 12:09 PM
Inmate deaths and injuries

Family members of inmates who have died or been injured in jail custody have filed lawsuits against the sheriff’s office. Maricopa County has paid more than $43 million in settlement claims during Arpaio's tenure. [62] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-wake-61) [63] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-East_Valley_Tribune-62)
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Arpaio&action=edit&section=20)] Charles Agster

In August 2001, Charles Agster, a 33-year-old mentally handicapped man, died in the county jail three days after being forced by sheriff's officers into a restraint chair used for controlling combative arrestees. Agster's parents had been taking him to a psychiatric hospital because he was exhibiting paranoia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoia), then called police when he refused to leave a convenience store where they had stopped enroute. Officers took Agster to the Madison Street jail, placed a "spit hood" over his face and strapped him to the chair, where he had an apparent seizure and lost consciousness. He was declared brain dead three days later. A medical examiner later concluded that Agster died of complications of methamphetamine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methamphetamine) intoxication (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intoxication). In a subsequent lawsuit, an attorney for the sheriff's office described the amount of methamphetamine in Agster's system as 17 times the known lethal dose. The lawsuit resulted in a $9 million jury verdict against the county, the sheriff's office, and Correctional Health Services (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Correctional_Health_Services&action=edit&redlink=1).[68] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-67)
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Arpaio&action=edit&section=21)] Scott Norberg

One major controversy includes the 1996 death of inmate Scott Norberg, a former Brigham Young University (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Young_University) football wide receiver, who died while in custody of the Sheriff's office.[69] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-68) Norberg was arrested for assaulting a police officer in Mesa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa,_Arizona), Arizona, after neighbors in a residential area had reported a delirious man walking in their neighborhood.[70] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-69) Arpaio's office repeatedly claimed Norberg was also high on methamphetamine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methamphetamine), but a blood toxicology (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxicology) performed post-mortem was inconclusive. According to a toxological report, Norberg did have methamphetamine in his urine, though "there would be no direct effect caused by the methamphetamine on Norberg's behavior at the time of the incident".[71] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-70) During his internment, evidence suggests detention officers (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Detention_officer&action=edit&redlink=1) shocked Norberg several times with a stun-gun (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stun-gun). According to an investigation by Amnesty International (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amnesty_International), Norberg was already handcuffed and face down when officers dragged him from his cell and placed him in a restraint chair with a towel covering his face. After Norberg's corpse was discovered, detention officers accused Norberg of attacking them as they were trying to restrain him. The cause of his death, according to the Maricopa County medical examiner, was due to "positional asphyxia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positional_asphyxia)". Sheriff Arpaio investigated and subsequently cleared detention officers of any criminal wrongdoing.[72] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-71)
Norberg’s parents filed a lawsuit against Arpaio and his office. The lawsuit was settled for $8.25 million (USD) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_dollars).[73] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-72)
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Arpaio&action=edit&section=22)] Brian Crenshaw

Brian Crenshaw was a legally blind and mentally disabled inmate who suffered fatal injuries while being held in Maricopa County Jail for shoplifting. The injuries that led to his death were initially blamed on a fall from his bunk but were later discovered to have been the result of a brutal beating by jail guards on March 7, 2003.[citation needed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)] A lawsuit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawsuit) filed in the Maricopa County Superior Court of Arizona by the lawyer for Crenshaw's family stated:

An external examination report of the Maricopa County Medical Examiners Office concluded that Brian's death was caused by "complications of blunt force trauma due to a fall." This conclusion was reached largely on the [Maricopa County Sheriffs Office]'s relation of their "history" of Brian's injuries to the Medical Examiner's Office; a history that included the MCSO's implausable story that all of Brian's injuries were caused by a fall from his cell bed. The Maricopa County Medical Examiner conducted no autopsy; nor was the Maricopa County Medical Examiner informed by MCSO or [the Correctional Health Services] about Brian's beating on March 7, 2003 and/or related events. An independent autopsy report later narrowed the cause of Brian's death to peritonitis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peritonitis) and sepsis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepsis) secondary to the duodenal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duodenal) perforation. A fall from Brian's 4-foot, 2 inch bunk could not have simultaneously caused a broken neck, broken toes, and a duodenal perforation.[74] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-73)
The lawsuit against Arpaio and his office resulted in an award of $2 million.[75] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-74) As in the Scott Norberg case, it was alleged that Arpaio's office destroyed evidence in the case. In the Crenshaw case, the attorney who represented the case before a jury alleged digital video evidence was destroyed.[76] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-75)
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Arpaio&action=edit&section=23)] Richard Post

Richard Post was a paraplegic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraplegic) inmate arrested in 1996 for possession of marijuana and criminal trespass. Post was placed in a restraint chair by guards and his neck was broken in the process. The event, caught on video, shows guards smiling and laughing while Post is being injured. Because of his injuries, Post has lost much of the use of his arms.[77] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-76) Post settled his claims against the Sheriff's office for $800,000.[78] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-77)
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Arpaio&action=edit&section=24)] Jeremy Flanders

In 1996, Jeremy Flanders was attacked by inmates at Tent City who used rebar tent stakes, which were not concreted into the ground. Although these stakes had been used as weapons in a previous riot at the facility, the Sheriff's office chose not to secure them properly. During the trial, the plaintiff "presented evidence that, among other things, the Sheriff and his deputies had actual knowledge that prisoners used rebar tent stakes and tent poles as weapons and did nothing to prevent it." Furthermore, "the Sheriff admitted knowing about, and in fact intentionally designing, some conditions at Tent City that created a substantial risk of inmate violence." After the attack: "another inmate entered the tent and found Flanders unconscious, gasping for air, and spewing blood out of his mouth, nose and ears. Flanders had been bloodied and beaten so badly that the other inmate initially did not recognize Flanders." Flanders suffered permanent brain damage as a result of the attack. On appeal, Flanders was awarded $635,532, of which Arpaio was personally responsible for thirty-five percent.[20] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-Cates-19)
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Arpaio&action=edit&section=25)] Ambria Renee Spencer

In 2006, inmate Ambrett Spencer, who was incarcerated for drunk driving and was nine months pregnant with a girl, complained of severe stomach pains and asked for medical attention. The infirmary nurse, who had no prenatal training, believed the pain was not an emergency. It was two hours before an ambulance was called for Spencer, who in the meantime had passed out from severely low blood pressure and lost so much color that the EMT who arrived at the scene said he knew she was "not getting enough blood to [her] organs and skin." At the hospital—four hours after first reporting pain—Spencer gave birth to a dead daughter, Ambria Renee. It was determined that Spencer's pain had been caused by placental abruption (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placental_abruption), internal bleeding resulting in loss of blood to the baby.
Ambrett Spencer has filed a lawsuit against Maricopa County, which as of November 2008 has not yet gone to trial. The county claims that the ambulance service is at fault for not transporting Spencer to the hospital fast enough.
Other female inmates have had miscarriages while incarcerated in Arpaio's jail and have reported physical abuse or neglect which they believe contributed to the loss of their pregnancies.[79] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-Phoenix_New_Times-78)
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Arpaio&action=edit&section=26)] Jose Rodriguez

On March 26, 1996, Jose Rodriquez, 39, died in a pool of his own vomit on a jail floor. His cries for help went ignored by Arpaio's jail employees. Rodriguez's dehydration, fever and twitching ultimately led to his death, even while inmates shouted for help.[79] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-Phoenix_New_Times-78)
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Arpaio&action=edit&section=27)] Phillip Wilson

In 2003, Phillip Wilson was serving two months in Tent City for a nonviolent offense. Wilson was attacked by the Aryan Brotherhood (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryan_Brotherhood) prison gang and bludgeoned into a coma. He never recovered.[79] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-Phoenix_New_Times-78)
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Arpaio&action=edit&section=28)] Deborah Braillard

Deborah Braillard, 46, was documented as a diabetic in the jail's health records. Her cellmates say a nurse did not give Braillard insulin, and then detention officers ignored her when she went into diabetic shock. Braillard died on January 23, 2005, ultimately from lack of insulin.[79] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-Phoenix_New_Times-78)
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Arpaio&action=edit&section=29)] Clint Yarbrough

In December 2005, Clint Yarbrough suffocated in a jail restraint chair. On April 18, 2007, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors approved an undisclosed settlement payout to Yarbrough's family in excess of $1 million.[79] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-Phoenix_New_Times-78)
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Arpaio&action=edit&section=30)] Thomas Bruce Cooley

Months before Thomas Bruce Cooley, 44, was found hanging by the bed sheets in his jail cell, a federal inspector had warned Arpaio that the jail psych ward was a suicide waiting to happen. A 1996 Department of Justice report specifically cautioned that inmates could use "overhanging structures" to hang themselves. Three more inmates died in the same way as Thomas Cooley while in Arpaio's custody: Kevin Holschlag, Michael Sanderson, and Juan Vasquez.[79] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-Phoenix_New_Times-78)
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Arpaio&action=edit&section=31)] Icelandic extradition refusal

An Icelandic court in 1997 refused to extradite Connie and Donald Hanes to Maricopa County after hearing evidence about the county jail.[80] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-79)
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Arpaio&action=edit&section=32)] Enforcement acts of deputies and posse

[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Arpaio&action=edit&section=33)] Blocking civilian access to law enforcement databases

On August 13, 2009, deputies took control of a computer system linked to sensitive criminal justice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_justice) databases by forcefully changing its password to prevent civilians from accessing the data. Two days later, a Maricopa County judge ordered the Sheriff's Office to divulge the password, threatening to hold Chief Deputy David Hendershott in contempt of court (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contempt_of_court) if he did not comply. Hendershott said he was prevented from sharing the password by federal law. Federal and state laws require that access to the National Crime Information Center (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Crime_Information_Center) (NCIS) and similar Arizona databases be managed by a criminal justice agency. Hendershott said the Sheriff's Office is conducting a criminal investigation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_investigation) into suspected mismanagement of the system by court and other county personnel.
He said the investigation targets Superior Court presiding Judge Barbara Mundell, County Manager Smith and other county personnel, but he did not provide details on the investigation."[81] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-80)
On August 17, Hendershott agreed to provide the new password to avoid contempt charges.[82] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-81)
[edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Arpaio&action=edit&section=34)] Botched raid

In 2004, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office SWAT (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWAT) team led a raid on an Ahwatukee (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahwatukee) home in a gated subdivision, looking for illegal weapons. No illegal weapons were found, but during the raid, the house burned down, SWAT officers forced a dog back into the building where it subsequently died, and an armored vehicle rolled into a neighbor's parked car as a result of brake failure.[83] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio#cite_note-82)

Liberty Star
10-17-2009, 12:26 PM
It seems Joe is not as compassionate as Bush:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=867834


Bush left borders open and gave them fast track incentive to citizenship if they helped liberate Iraq, what is Joe doing in contrast?

LibForestPaul
10-17-2009, 12:43 PM
Inmate deaths and injuries

]

What are the stats for other jails in Arizona? What authority role does the sheriff have over corrections?

EndDaFed
10-17-2009, 01:02 PM
Yuck Arpaio. This is the guy who raided a local news paper because he didn't like what they had to say. His deputes hold frequent ID checks at flea markets and harass people who sell goods.

Free Talk Live went over all his dirty laundry just recently.

http://freetalklive.com/files/galindo.mp3