Sheriff Joe Arpaio - Good ol' Boy of Arizona USA

editorial comment: this story is related to "Shaq loses deputy badge over rap" -- the good sheriff of our little po'dunk southwestern town is by god hell bent on cleaning up the mess. 

Sheriff Joe woulda been good at it when the town was 300 people  ... sort of like Wyatt Earp in Tombstone, or in some mythical southwestern town like John "Duke" Wayne.

wal, times have changed ....  Maricopa County, Arizona is a community of 3 freakin million. Somebody's got a lot to learn. Either all three million of us in this county better by god get in line with the small town mind of the sheriff, or he needs to realize that his cranial-rectal view of the USA Constitution may need clarifications to keep up with the new millennium. 

Voters take note --- what is the return on investment in MCSO under Joe's regime?

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Sheriff’s deputies conduct sweep under watchful eyes

by Senta Scarborough, JJ Hensley and Dennis Wagner -

June 26, 2008
07:01 PM
The Arizona Republic

More than 230 law officers swarmed the streets of Mesa Arizona on Thursday, with Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies looking for criminals and undocumented immigrants while local police monitored the deputies.

Also observing the action were officials from the U.S. Justice Department and Arizona Attorney General's Office, along with dozens of activists using video cameras.

As of 6 p.m., there had been no major incidents involving the anti-immigration patrols or protesters.

But the operation represents another strange chapter in Sheriff Joe Arpaio's campaign to round up illegal immigrants using saturation patrols – a tactic that has left police counterparts and some citizens on edge.

Just before 2 p.m. Thursday, a pair of undercover detectives with the sheriff's human smuggling unit set out in an unmarked car and had detained a driver within 10 minutes for running a stop sign. The motorist, who appeared to be non-Hispanic, was returning home from a dialysis treatment. He got a verbal warning.

A few moments later, the detectives pulled over an older-model, faded blue Ford pickup and cited a driver for expired registration. “What am I supposed to do, stay home?” asked the frustrated motorist, who only gave his name as Bobby. “I've got nothing to hide.”

Even before Sheriff Joe Arpaio's sweep began, it had drawn attention from Washington, D.C., to the state Capitol, in part because critics claim deputies have targeted Latino drivers, an allegation the sheriff denies.

Arpaio said he had 100 deputies in today's task force. Mesa police said 131 of their officers were patrolling on special assignment. Chief George Gascón, who has bickered with Arpaio over the dragnets, said Justice Department personnel also planned to observe. Attorney General Terry Goddard sent several of his sworn officers to support Mesa police.

Meanwhile, Elias Bermudez, a co-founder of Immigrants Without Borders, said his group recruited about 20 legal Hispanics to cruise the streets where deputies were active. Salvador Reza, a leader with the Somos America immigrant-rights coalition, said his outfit sent about 40 more onto the streets with video cameras.

In April, Arpaio announced he would bring the detail to Mesa after several East Valley lawmakers requested him to do so. Earlier sheriff's sweeps in Guadalupe and Phoenix prompted allegations of racial profiling and attracted large pro-immigration or anti-Arpaio crowds. During the Guadalupe effort, Arpaio moved his command post after demonstrators made him uncomfortable.

Along with some other public officials, Gascón has criticized immigration sweeps. He recently complained that the sheriff failed to give him advance notice of today's campaign.

In an interview on KTAR talk radio, Arpaio described that complaint as “garbage.” Asked whether he is concerned about demonstrators, the sheriff said, “I've got the police that doesn't want me there. It's not just protesters. But, you know, we're going full force … They don't want me to pick up illegals.”

This afternoon, after canceling plans for a news conference in Mesa, Arpaio met with reporters at his downtown Phoenix office and vowed to conduct surprise raids in the future. “I've got a message for the chief (Gascón),” he said. “Next time we come in, you can just spot our patrol cars.”

Mesa police developed an operations plan to “mitigate the likelihood of civil disturbance” involving protesters. They planned to videotape events while community members and clergy served as neutral observers. They also established free-speech zones on opposite sides of the street, and met with demonstration leadership groups to lay down ground rules.

Gascón, who has worked with the Justice Department in the past concerning racial tensions, said he was contacted by the agency in April after Arpaio announced his plan to come to Mesa. His lieutenants met earlier today with Ronald Wakabayashi, regional director for the U.S. Western Region of DOJ Community Relations Service. The service is the agency's “peacemaker” for community conflicts and tensions over race, national origin or color.

“I think they (DOJ officials) are to have an overall look at the condition of the event (and) monitor how we handle the crowds, depending on how things play out today,” Gascón said.

Goddard agreed to assist after a conversation between Gascón earlier this week, according to attorney general's spokeswoman Andrea Esquer. “Our primary concern is to ensure peace is maintained,” she added. “We do not have a monitoring role. This is not in an investigatory capacity.”

By 3 p.m. Thursday, police and sheriff's patrol units were conspicuous in the heart of Mesa's barrio. At Mi Linda Mexico, a shop across the street from a fence mural of the Virgin of Guadalupe, shop clerk Erica Estrada said business has been down for weeks because immigrants are afraid to leave their homes.

Nearby, 17-year-old Marcos Mendez Mora calmly pushed a paleta cart full of ice cream along the sidewalk. Mora, who acknowledged being undocumented, said in Spanish he had no idea that one of the sheriff's redadas, or nets, was occurring. He briskly pushed the cart a ways, but stopped when two children flagged him down for treats.

Down the road a ways, Craig Johnson, 40, of Mesa, saw some sheriff's deputies at a gas station and thanked them for coming to town. "I hope they stay here," he said. "The City Council and the police chief don't want to do anything about it."

At the police command post just off Mesa Drive, a crowd of immigrant-rights protesters swelled to more than 100 who intermittently prayed and chanted in the heat, waving signs saying, “One World Unbordered” and “Arpaio Go Home.”

When Mesa's police chief appeared to congratulate demonstrators for peacefulness, they chanted, “Gascón. Gascón… USA. USA.”

“I'm here against Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the misuse of public funding for electoral purposes,” said Reza, one of the organizers. “I'm against the intimidation of the community and the racial profiling.”

Attorney Antonio Bustamante, of Phoenix, who also was protesting, said Arpaio "is perpetuating some of the grossest injustice this nation has witnessed since the 1960s and the Jim Crow South.''

Only a handful showed up on the opposite side of the street. Richard Ingebretsen, 65, a member of the American Freedom Riders immigration control group, said he supports the roundup.

“They aren't citizens of this country,” he added. “The color of their skin and where they are from doesn't bother me. Just don't break the law.”

Late Thursday afternoon, deputies stopped an old truck hauling landscaping equipment in east Mesa. After determining that the driver had a Mexican driver's license and spoke mostly Spanish, they conducted immigration screening. An 18-year-old passenger ended up in handcuffs after admitting he had no documentation. The driver, who did not give his name, refused to answer any of the detectives' questions about his immigration status, which is within his rights, detectives said. He was released with a citation for driving with expired registration.

Reporters Carol Sowers, Robert Anglen, Michael Kiefer, Brian Duggan, Daniel Gonzalez, Samantha Hauser and Astrid Galvan contributed to this story.