Controversial Arizona Sheriff Snubbed by House Panel on Immigration

Controversial Arizona Sheriff Snubbed by House Panel on Immigration

Two House Judiciary subcommittees convened Thursday to examine allegations of unconstitutional immigration enforcement tactics -- and took target practice at Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona, whose controversial methods have been called racist by activists and Democratic lawmakers.

But Arpaio didn't defend himself on Capitol Hill. He did not testify to the committee and he did not attend the joint hearing.

That's because the Maricopa County, Ariz., law enforcement chief wasn't invited, said House Judiciary Committee sources.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This guy is what every state should be trying to be like. There has been enough "tip toeing" around the issue of criminals getting away with whatever because they feel like they were profiled. If you have done nothing wrong, then you have nothing to fear. But while the ACLU and other "feel good" groups are looking out for criminals rights, the gangs like MS13 and others are gaining momentum and killing, drug dealing, at an astounding rate. Isn't it time we stopped worrying about feelings and started worrying about the law?


(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by Mason mike


NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I completely disagree, after having lived in Arizona for over 7 years, and seeing the crap this guy pulls, that cost tax payers a lot of money for nothing!

I don't have issue, per say with what he does in regards to tent city, and green balogna, pink underwear.

This goof ball tried to do an undercover sting operation on prostitution, for years, using a lot of money and tax dollars. I mean millions!

The whole shebang was thrown out of court, because, allegeldy, his coppers partook in the sex acts to arrest people.

He's a complete dunce, that really only the old farts living in the state support.

He thinks breaking the rules, justify the end of the means.

WRONG! He takes the law in to his own hands being an example that completely sucks! [ he makes his own rules that he thinks should be law]

Research some of this guys boner mistakes. He's nuts!

edit to add the in brackets part about Joe's law!


[edit on 3-4-2009 by Blanca Rose]

Joe Arpaio.... What a piece of trash. The only thing I agree with him is border protection... but he's still a corrupt, pro-war on drugs, ``i'm the king`` piece of garbage. If you know all the things he did, HE should be in jail.

But +1 for him for trying to control the border...

reply to post by Mason mike

Isn't it time we stopped worrying about feelings and started worrying about the law?

There is never an appropriate time to disregard the opinion and feelings of the general public when considering laws to pass.

Seriously, are you aware of the purpose of a democracy or do you like to pretend the United States is in some transitional level above that?

Racial profiling only opens the floodgates for ultra conservative, right-wingers to start enacting all sorts of crazy, broad laws on profiling "domestic dissidents", "homegrown-terrorists", "undesireables" and potential troublemakers, based on any kind of statistical data they can come up with.

Race is rarely a motivating factor in crime.

Economic conditions almost always are. Keep Black, Hispanic and immigrant populations poor, deprived of rights and opportunities and segregated into ghettos and you'll continue to see them commit crimes and form gangs.

You reap what you sow. Gung-Ho Cowboys like Arpaio only breed more ignorance.

You need to treat the issue of immigration and crime levels as a socio-economic issue. Not a political one.

[edit on 3/4/09 by The Godfather of Conspira]

heres what I do know about him,

1. he doesn't care how it makes you feel when you break the law and get arrested.

2. he tries to make sure you never want to get put back in his jail.

3. He dosn't give two sh!#s about political correctness

4. He gets the job done.

I am sure there are some liberal boo hooers that think he's mean to the poor criminals, but I think he is doing the right thing. He made some mistakes in how he handled a prostitution sting operation? I bet he won't make the same mistakes again. Nobody is perfect, but at least he is doing what he believes is right.

reply to post by The Godfather of Conspira


so a group of 18-22 year old hispanics with 13 tattoed on their necks are probably just kids hanging out and waiting for the taffy pull to start? take off the blinders. There is a whole world out there and some of it is bad.

reply to post by Blanca Rose


Sounds like the Sheriff played by Gene Hackman " No guns in the town of Whiskey". It also have Clint Eastwood in it, but I can't remember the name of the Film.

[edit on 3-4-2009 by 38181]

reply to post by Mason mike

4. He gets the job done.

Uh, sorry, he does not get the job done! I watched a documentary recently that showed he clearly ignored almost all other crime; including emergency 911 calls, because his sole focus was on catching illegals.

He's a myopic grand-stander. That's about it.

"If you have done nothing wrong, then you have nothing to fear."

Yeah, especially if you live in some non-existent fantasy world.

Originally posted by Mason mike
heres what I do know about him,

1. he doesn't care how it makes you feel when you break the law and get arrested.

Uhmmm, did you read my post? No, he shouldn't care how real criminals feel, but he never arrested the cops that paid prostitutes and had sex with them to entrap them. His own cops should have been arrested, theoretically, but he said something like when asked about it, that is was just part of their job, or some of his usual b.s.

2. he tries to make sure you never want to get put back in his jail.

Oh, really? Have you asked any person who has been in any jail if they ever want to go back? His theory isn't unique!

3. He dosn't give two sh!#s about political correctness

There are laws everyone has to follow, and he isn't above them, just like the rest of the population!

4. He gets the job done.

Nope, only the stuff you might read, or hear about. He messes up on quite a regular basis.

I am sure there are some liberal boo hooers that think he's mean to the poor criminals, but I think he is doing the right thing. He made some mistakes in how he handled a prostitution sting operation? I bet he won't make the same mistakes again. Nobody is perfect, but at least he is doing what he believes is right.

He is not doing the right thing, by making up his own laws, when and if he chooses to do so. What you propose is like saying to yourself, humm, I feel like I won't be breaking the law by drinking and driving today. You have laws, and he does also. He should get no special treatment over his constituents!

reply to post by Mason mike


Here's what you DON'T know about him:

1. Arizona has paid upwards of $42 million dollars in settlement claims from families who relatives died in police custody, during Arpaios tenure:
www.eastvalleytribune.com...
60 inmates alone dying from treatable illnesses since 2004, after being denied the proper medical facilities.

2. 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. He had a seizure due to not being able to take his epileptic medication while in custody:
www.eastvalleytribune.com...

3. Scott Norberg was tortured by County Officers while in custody with a taser, while already restrained, after which Norberg was found dead in his cell from asphyxia. The officers claimed he attacked them and was high on amphetamines, both of which turned out to be false:
www.phoenixnewtimes.com...

4. Richard Post was a 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.
www.phoenixnewtimes.com...

5. 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. Rodriquez's dehydration, fever and twitching ultimately led to his death, even while inmates shouted for help.

6. 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.

7. In 2004, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office SWAT team led a raid on an Ahwatukee home in a gated subdivision, looking for illegal weapons. No illegal weapons were found, but during the raid, the house burned down, and SWAT officers forced a dog back into the building where it subsequently died.
www.phoenixnewtimes.com...

8. 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.
www.phoenixnewtimes.com...

9. In October 2007, Arpaio's deputies arrested Village Voice Media executives and Phoenix New Times editors Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin on charges of revealing grand jury secrets. In July 2004, the New Times had published Arpaio's home address in the context of a story about his real estate dealings, which the county attorney's office is investigating as a possible crime under Arizona state law.
Arpaio then subpoenaed detailed information on anyone who has looked at the New Times Web site since 2004.
Every individual who looked at any story, review, listing, classified, or retail ad over a period of years.
www.phoenixnewtimes.com...

10. On June 11, 2008, Ray Stern, a reporter for the Phoenix New Times, was surrounded and intimidated by several deputies while trying to examine public records at the City of Phoenix public records counter. Stern called City Attorney Gary Verburg, who came down and instructed the deputies that Stern had the right to view the records. The deputies then threatened to simply arrest Stern on the spot.
www.azcentral.com...

3. He dosn't give two sh!#s about political correctness

4. He gets the job done.

If by "political correctness" being a neo-con euphemism for Human Rights, then you're correct.

Yeah he gets the job done alright, at the expense of the law, the innocent, and any criminal who dares to speak up about the hellish conditions in which Arpaio keeps people in his county jails.


[edit on 3/4/09 by The Godfather of Conspira]

Originally posted by Mason mike


This guy is what every state should be trying to be like. There has been enough "tip toeing" around the issue of criminals getting away with whatever because they feel like they were profiled. If you have done nothing wrong, then you have nothing to fear. But while the ACLU and other "feel good" groups are looking out for criminals rights, the gangs like MS13 and others are gaining momentum and killing, drug dealing, at an astounding rate. Isn't it time we stopped worrying about feelings and started worrying about the law?


(visit the link for the full news article)

spoken from a person who doesn't live in the city he is a sheriff of...

He's so busy scaring all those bad people that don't defend themselves he lets the 1000's of hard criminals run free because he isn't enforcing the real job he has and that is to enforce warrants and felony arrest he was supposed to be tracking down. but ignores them instead.

reply to post by The Godfather of Conspira


And before someone starts screaming "Liberal" here I'd like to point out that this sort of treatment is unconstitutional and should have nothing to do with you political leanings...The Constitution is not Liberal or Conservative:

caselaw.lp.findlaw.com...

The Eighth Amendment states:

"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."




[edit on 3-4-2009 by projectvxn]

Why all the bash Joe posts? Personally, I dont care one way or another. I dont live in his district and dont have the chance to vote for or against him.

The bigger picture I see here is a Congressional panel is taking him apart while not inviting him to defend himself. There is something inheriantly wrong with that.

I dont care what your view of the Sheriff is, but Congress should agree to hear his side of the story before casting judgement.

Apparently, this Sheriff is doing something right that the people of his country like.

After all, a Sheriff is an ELECTED official, isn't he?

Personally, I'd like to see this guy put in charge of border security. He seems to be the only SOB who knows how to handle this problem!

reply to post by projectvxn


How does my political leaning affect the truth?
Because it's coming from my mouth?

This guy Arpaio should be next in line to manage Guantanamo Bay or Abu Ghraib.

He thinks Arizona is the Wild West.

His self-declared "Toughest Sheriff in the World" antics fall nothing short of outright and deliberate disregard for human rights, constitutional rights, and due process of the Law.

Under his leadership, crime has risen thanks to his intense focus on illegal immigration, and prison management and capacity has degraded to completely deplorable levels.

It's gotten so bad, they've step up a "Tent City" as an extension of the Maricopa County Jail, in an effort to tackle over-crowding without building a new jail. www.kpho.com...

Inmates are dying left and right due to complete indifference at the corruption and mismanagement of Arizona State Jails, people are dying in custody because of heavy-handed and unfounded tactics used on innocent people, and crime is rising because he's just too focused on illegal immigration and thinks by solving that, he can solve every other criminal issue.

This guy just needs to have his cowboy ass kicked out of the Sheriff's Office plain and simple.

[edit on 3/4/09 by The Godfather of Conspira]

reply to post by Mason mike


Bravo for the House! This AZ jackass has too much publicity anyway. That's his ADDICTION. Like a bear, don't feed him and he'll go away. He is the very type that would have been happy to preside over Abu Ghraib! A conceited ego maniac. Of course, it’s only in AZ could the law enforcment impersonator JERK be relected. Which tells you who inhabits AZ. And votes there.

[edit on 4/3/2009 by donwhite]

It wasn't meant as a comment on your particular leanings. But the "Liberal" term has already been brought up in the conversation. And your list of abuses denotes a pattern of abuse of constitutionally protected rights. It was simply an illustration of how null an argument it is to politicize the violation of the Constitution, in particular the 8th amendment.

[edit on 3-4-2009 by projectvxn]

[edit on 3-4-2009 by projectvxn]

Originally posted by 38181
reply to post by Blanca Rose

 

Sounds like the Sheriff played by Gene Hackman " No guns in the town of Whiskey". It also have Clint Eastwood in it, but I can't remember the name of the Film.

[edit on 3-4-2009 by 38181]

"Unforgiven"

I'm here to kill you "little bill", for what you did to ned.