The US Attorney in Phoenix says that Sheriff Joe Arpaio is in the clear, and of course they dumped it at 5 PM on the Friday of Labor Day weekend. I hadn’t been following the case closely, but that’s a good article from the Arizona Republic listing the different accusations against Arpaio. The whole thing stems from an apparently overreaching and harassing government corruption probe by Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas.
Ten federal lawsuits have been filed against Maricopa County by the targets of that probe, and the county has spent $3.2 million to litigate and settle those. Some cases are still outstanding, including one case that will probably settle for over $1 million. So, Arpaio and Thomas’ conduct wasn’t criminal, just extremely damaging to the county. That would usually be enough for the target of those lawsuits to lose an election. Joe’s running this Fall, but apparently he’s still the favorite, because his bullshit plays to the white Republican majority in that county.
cathyx
But if all the brown people leave, who will cut their lawns and clean their houses?
WereBear
@cathyx: They’re not big on thinking ahead.
amk
Why did the DOJ suddenly turn hawkchickens on this ? wtf happened?
BruceFromOhio
And that’s the beauty of a tyranny voted into existence in the midst of a supposedly small-d democratic system. We fought a revolution to establish the rights for the populace to choose it’s leaders, and as long as the chosen stay within the confines of the law (for the most part), there’s nothing to stop a bunch of dickheads from electing a tyrant.
Put another way, if I’m an ignorant racist moron, there will be appeal found in the ignorant racist moron running for county sheriff.
waratah
Will the law suits raise taxes in that county?
Odie Hugh Manatee
So Arizona is lawless for the law by design, making it literally a police state in a supposedly free nation? I bet this makes sense in Arizona but then again the state is full of foaming at the mouth, senile old fucks who vote Republican…
I mean, snowbirds.
I feel sorry for the few remaining sane people stuck there.
OT/ETA: There’s a butthurt post that people should read at Redstate about how the Disqus commenting system sucks because it allows people to easily look up the posts someone makes. It also makes it easier to follow what someone says.
You have to read it to believe it. Streiff posted it and the whole thing is a riot to read.
NonyNony
@waratah:
If it does, that will just be evidence for the voters there that what we need is more tort reform. They’ll blame the lawyers and not their own idiotic elected representatives (or themselves for continuing to vote for them, for that matter).
charon
Yeah, he’s pretty popular where I live. (ie, with the other old geezers, one of the Sun Cities). He is only responsible for law enforcement in unincorporated areas, which incidentally have terrible crime statistics. In the incorporated cities, it’s the local police, and the crime stats are a lot better.
Violet
@Odie Hugh Manatee: Hilarious. Have to agree with them that the Disqus commenting system does suck. And it is easier to look up what people said, but seriously, anyone with teh google can do the same thing. Who’s Streiff?
maya
Couldn’t we just trade Arsizona, New Mex and Tex to Mexico for Cabo, Terrell Owens and a future NAFTA lottery draft pick?
1848. A year that will live in infamy.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@Violet:
Streiff is a big mouth there who frequently says some pretty detestable and/or ridiculous bullshit, thus their worry about having their stupid shit thrown back in their face. That’s his biggest concern, that people can easily find and quote his own stupid blathering back at him. His fear of being tracked and read by people really says it all. They’ve always been able to hide in their little toy fort and Disqus has thrown the gates open, allowing the terrible hordes in.
Gated communities are all these idiots know.
MattR
People should go read the article. For one, it points out that this does not derail the civil suit filed by the DOJ Civil Rights Division over racial profiling. It then goes on to list the various things that were investigated and the reason why they decided not to prosecute. None of it really exonerates Arapaio in any way. Such as,
Violet
@Odie Hugh Manatee: Ha! Hilarious! Thanks for the update. I only go there occasionally, so am not very familiar with it. You are so right–they are all about gated communities. Protecting their own from the imaginary hordes of scary darkies and outsiders. Pathetic.
WereBear
@Violet: The previous post references an article summing up the RNC. The reporter witnessed a woman freaking out over the thought of walking through a park at night; even though it was lit up like a Christmas tree, was a couple of blocks long, was populated by skinny trees too small to hide behind… and surrounded by armed police officers.
Yeah. Pathetic.
burnspbesq
@amk:
Just for half a second, consider the possibility that DOJ dispassionately looked at the evidence and determined that it wasn’t enough to get a conviction.
Violet
@WereBear: For these folks, danger lurks around every corner (tree) and everyone who isn’t like them is out to get them. Pathetic.
jon
The DOJ made a determination both reasonable and politically reasonable. The evidence needed to claim Arpaio was corruptly arresting people was not enough in this case, the lawsuits being made and settled already show that justice is being done, and there’s no need to make Arpaio a bigger prima donna crybaby victim than he’ll already claim anyhow. Politically, it’s a wise thing to do right before the election.
A Federal lawsuit wasn’t going to answer all the questions about where all the money has gone anyhow. That’s missing just like the servers that recorded the phone calls into the jail (and whether they were recorded even if they were from attorneys talking to their clients), the real statistics on traffic stops, the sheriff’s integrity, and his soul. Nothing to see here, move along.
rickstershierpa
@WereBear: They are really mad about seeing their home values fall by 50% over the last five years. http://www.crgraphs.com/2011/10/house-price-graphs.html
There is an ol’ tradition in world, particularly strong in America, about lashing out those lower on the social scale when things go bad.
desertflower
@charon:
http://washingtonindependent.com/91520/violent-crime-is-down-in-arizona-up-in-sheriff-joe-arpaios-county
He’s cost the people of this county untold millions.He doesn’t do his job:http://www.mycuentame.org/sheriff_arpaio_and_staff_ignored_dozens_of_child_molestation_cases_of_undocumented_children_hundreds_of_sex_crimes_cases_botched
Because, you know, they’re Brown.He’s replusive and needs to GO!
amk
@burnspbesq: Then they jumped the gun when they filed the suit ? IIRR, they took nearly two years to file the suit. So how they missed that then it wasn’t enough to get a conviction.
Violet
OT–Romney is seriously out of touch:
Go call 211? WTF? She’s lost her home. It’s not like she’s calling 211 because there’s a dead possum in the street. She needs state and federal assistance. Mitt is an idiot and completely out of touch.
MattR
@amk: I think you are confusing things a bit. The DOJ never filed criminal charges. This has been a years long investigation into that. However, separately the DOJ Civil Rights Division filed a civil racial-profiling suit against Arapaio this past May (which is what I think you are thinking of and referring to in your comment). That is ongoing and not affected by Friday’s decision/announcement. (EDIT: Bear in mind that the civil suit has a lower burden of proof than a criminal trial)
@Violet: To quote a wise man, “WOW oh WOW oh WOW”
Linda Featheringill
@Odie Hugh Manatee: #6
In 2010, over-65 folks made up almost 14% of Arizona’s population. Is that enough to control elections?
http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/projectionsagesex.html
elisabeth
@Violet:
Why do I still think she’ll vote for him?
(I also love that GOP governors forget the feds suck when it is convenient.)
Violet
@elisabeth: Yep. Some other guy in the article was holding a “Mitt’s Our Man” sign as Mitt’s caravan created a wake in the flood waters as it rolled through town.
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
I was annoyed at first upon reading the headline but almost at once realized I did not truly expect the outcome to be otherwise: this clown has been pulling such crap for a long time and cops rarely seem to get busted unless you have 50 eye witnesses, DNA evidence, and a video tape of the crime.
How old is Arpaio anyway? Most cops I worked with (I was in law enforcement as a non-sworn evidence tech/CSI for about 13 years total) retire somewhere around 55. This guy looks like he’s pushing 80.
Violet
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.): According to Wikipedia, he’s 80 years old.
Chris
@Violet:
Mitt, Mitt, he’s our man, if he can’t do it, GREAT!!!!
Joel
Nice Springsteen reference. The DougJ is strong in this one.
Hal
What exactly does an 80 year old Sheriff do all day? Or is Sheriff largely a desk job? Can’t imagine him out and about doing actual work so much as napping at his desk.
John M. Burt
Just the other day, I admitted I wasn’t entirely a Liberal, since I was Technocrat* enough to believe that some jobs, such as Fire Chief, Health Inspector and Sheriff, should not be elective offices, but should be filled by appointment by people who know how the job is done.
*In the strictly technical sense: http://www.technocracy.org/
Double Nickel
@John M. Burt: E.g. Canada.
Catsy
@Odie Hugh Manatee:
This. I’m no fan of Disqus and they have highlighted a few of the reasons why (distributed logins, allowing people not part of your community to vote on your posts), but the degree to which these people fear sunlight says a lot.
Also, on the topic of the thread holy fuck but Holder’s DOJ is worthless and has upside-down priorities. One of the more shameful aspects of this administration. I really hope Obama replaces Holder in his second term.
NonyNony
@John M. Burt:
I’m not sure that “Liberal” means that you are supposed to believe that every governmental office anywhere is supposed to be filled via an election. Liberals have historically advocated that those with governing power should be elected, but the appointment of apolitical bureaucrats who are hired to do the jobs decided upon by the elected officials isn’t really a non-Liberal idea.
On the other hand, Progressives have historically demanded that anyone with a hint of authority in the government be elected instead of appointed to try to minimize corruption. You can be a Liberal without being a Progressive (and you can be a Progressive without being a Liberal, if you think of being a Socialist as being distinct from being a Liberal, as some do.)
suzanne
@Odie Hugh Manatee:
We’ve got some good opposition this time, though….Paul Penzone may give Joe a run for his money. A lot of people are just sick of Joe’s drama, even I’d they we’re inclined to agree with him. And since the economy is improving here, brown people don’t seem like such the threat.
suzanne
Oh, and Arizona isn’t fulla old people.
Mike Lamb
@Hal: He walks around down town Phoenix with several body guards. Probably works on his list of people to harass via the legal process quite a bit each day.
piratedan
@suzanne: and Joe thrives in “unincorporated” Maricopa county where the oldsters that live in the county get to mooch off of the largesse of the cities but not pay the taxes to pay for the paved roads, fire departments and schools and as such, get the Joa Arpaio that they paid for.