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Matt York / AP
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Escalating a long-running battle with the outspoken sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, the Justice Department on Thursday sued him, his office and the county over civil rights issues involving racial profiling.
"The police are supposed to protect and serve our communities, not divide them. This is an abuse of power case," said Tom Perez, the head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.
"If you look Latino, you are fair game," he said.
The county has refused to impose a program, proposed by the Obama administration, that would train deputies on how to make traffic stops without improperly targeting Latinos. "They're telling me how to run my organization. I'm not going to give up my authority to the federal government," Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Wednesday before the lawsuit was filed.
The Justice Department claims that since 2006, Maricopa County sheriff's officers unfairly have targeted Latinos for traffic stops -- unlawfully detaining, searching and arresting people, many of whom turn out to be US citizens or legal residents.
The lawsuit claims that the Sheriff's Office discriminates against jail inmates who have trouble speaking English. Commands are issued only in English, and when prisoners who don't understand them fail to comply, entire areas of a jail are put in lockdown, inciting "obvious hostility," Perez said.
He said Latino jail inmates are also forced to sign English-language legal documents in which they forfeit key legal protections.
A third category of improper conduct, the lawsuit says, involves retaliation by the Sheriff's Office against perceived critics, including judges, lawyers, and community leaders.
"They have been subject to actions designed to silence and punish them, including wrongful arrests and baseless lawsuits," Perez said.
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should add the states racist Governor to this as well as the Prosecuting Attorney and Attorney General. I once thought Joe was kinda fun. Then I started paying attention and suddenly you see that he is just another kind of criminal. He needs to go and the county needs to cease its racist leanings.
Hey JagOff - The only criminals are the FEDS that Sheriff Arpaio is investigating.
When RATS are cornered, manufactured charges against Arpaio are their only weapon.
Put an emotionally 8 year old on the throne - start the 'terrorist' propaganda, and then get in a half white, half - what other countries did this emotional 9 year old POPE live in???? African passport in the mid-80's - hmmmmm to me - that says he really is from Africa. How many other presidents have we had who had passports issued to them from other countries??? NONE!!!! A smoker - junk food eater, feet propped up on White House furniture, who solves his problems over a beer - who has reduced us to Displaced Civilians - if anyone wants to lock you up!!!! AND NOW THIS COUNTRY IN DIVIDED!!!! "I pledge the allegiance to the flag of the UNITED states of America! And Obama SWORE to Uphold the CONSTITUTION under which We Protect OUR FREEDOMS AND RIGHTS because we aren't peons....We are Human Beings - and there is going to be SOME NAZI butt kicking soon!
Shame on Arizona for attempting to enforce the Federal Immigration Laws that the DOJ wants to neglect. The DOJ is too busy suing AZ for being police offers that have sworn to uphold the law (I guess just not this law).
I thought it was "TO PROTECT AND SERVE THE CITIZENS..."? Am
If you think this is political, or the Feds are overstepping i have just one instance of many i will mention and you tell me if you think its legal, proper, or if its illegal. Charging sitting criminal judges with RICO, and not having any evidence at all!! (when i say not having any, i mean they actually looked at reporters when asked what they did have and said "well, um, come on help me out here guys"). Most of said judges were either set to rule against him, or had in the past. I could go on about hundreds of sex crimes that were ignored in favor of these retaliatory investigations, or about the several americans with brown skin MCSO unlawfully detained as illegals, but you can not justify his charging the judges with such a serious crime and not having any evidence to support it. Its against every principle of our society, and clearly violates the Constitution.
Can I specify my tax money to only be used for Legal citizens? I might not be bothered as much
this is rediculous. It is the right of every country, and state, to protect themselves. We are giving away our country. We need to stop preventing the law enforcement of doing their jobs due to political agendas. If you want to have the rights of citizens, become one. Learn the language...English
the judges he arrested without cause or evidence to intimidate them speak English just fine...so do the many americans unlawfully detained by his deputies as illegals. Sorry, this isnt about immigration, this is about clear violations of the Constitution...and looking the other way so he can make a circus and round up a few illegals is disgusting. Thats right folks, Phx Pd arrests 4 to 5 times MORE than MCSO does, yet without the circus. And crimes such as murder have rose (murder 160%!)in their patrol areas because he is more concerned about appeasing people rather than doing the job. Read the lawsuit, it clearly states facts and evidence to support the claim.
Sheriff Arpaio is INVESTIGATING FEDERAL CRIMINALS who are backed into a corner like PANICKED RATS.
We should ALL SUPPORT SHERIFF ARPAIO's effort to uncover the trail of FRAUD and CRIMINALITY against the AMERICAN people.
GO SHERIFF ARPAIO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LMAO really, did you forget about the criminal judges he charged with RICO without any evidence to support the charge?!!?!?!?!!?
Arizona, it is simple, declare war on Mexico as stated in the constitution. It is your right if you are invaded.
Someone should turn around and sue the DOJ / Holder /Obama for racial profiling. Does Holder ever go after black offenders, New Panther Party example. Does Holder go after ACORN?
If your in this country ILLEGALY you do not have a valid drivers license. It is the Officer's right, under the law, to ask for a Driver's Licence when he stop's anyone for a traffic violation.
It looks like Holder and the DOJ / along with Obama and his administration is going after Sheriff Joe Arpaio, for looking into the birth certif., Draft Card, Social Security Card.
It will be interesting to see how he plains to get out of this one. He has been pretty successful avoiding any real problems in regards to his tactics but these charges seem very serious. I personally have never supported the way he treats inmates but as long as it does not cross the line I yield to that communities decision.
They are in jail, they should not be treated like Kings & Queens. If all prisioner were treated the way they do in AZ maybe, they would quite robbing, killing or whatever they are doing to go to jail to begin with. Prisioner live better in this country than the law abiding citizens! That is a shame, a damn rotten shame...
nana, say that to the UNSENTENCED (IE innocent until proven guilty) inmates that have been murdered in his jail by guards...
Must be an election year. I agree with what Sheriff Joe is trying to do. I RESENT seeing signs in mexican. We live in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA where ENGLISH is the NATIONAL LANGUAGE.
Mexican is not a language and the USA does not have a national language. Get a clue.
And 2 possibly 3 people agreed with her... lol
you are right Texas grace, we do live in America..where if you go charging sitting criminal judges with RICO and provide NO evidence to support the charge, judges whos rulings he didnt like, you are charged with a crime!!!
A teabagger and his wife go to see their family doctor. He tells the doc that they want to get the wife's tubes tied and a vasectomy for him.
After a shocked pause, the doctors tells the teabagger "I know how strongly against contraception you two are. After having 9 children, what on earth has prompted this extreme change of opinion?"
The wife just gives the doctor a shy, toothless grin and looks down to the floor.
The teabagger says "Well, doc, we were watching the Fox News on the T & V yesterday, and they told us that 1 out of every 10 babies born in this country is hispanic... And neither of us speaks Spanish."
to Steve: YET!
to TFNJ: come out of your mother's basement and see the light. Don't be afraid - it's the sun. LOL
So you ate saying Mexican is not a language.. YET??? LOL Too funny, and I find it embarrassing for whoever clicked like on your post.
Dayrl: UR a day late and a dollar short. Try wandering around Europe without a passport to prove that you come from somewhere. Our cousin is right now working on a governmen project San Piedro Island on the Mexican border. He went down there with no preconceptions. he says that the area is wide open and out of control. So what should we do in the USA? Do you advocate open borders with Mexico. How about the United States of Meximerica. Better yet, why don't you move to Mexico. We do not need you here.
So let me understand you guys. When someone of Hispanic origin is stopped and has no ID we just lock them up. And when we find out later that they are here legally and just dont speak english well and went to the store without their ID its cool they sat in jail for days. This has happened and should not happen in America. You make no distinction in your posts. Clearly you just hate hispanics. Thats a real shame.
Why NOT have a passport? EVERYWHERE else in the world has a passport BUT the United States. You first have to have a birth certificate OF THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN. Then you get a passport that says where you are born and it you carry it with you. So when you are stopped it proves whether you are here legally or not. So what's the problem? Apparently a lot of you have never traveled OUTSIDE of the United States. Try it without a passport. Here's an idea - try it in mexico! Let's see what happens then. Oh - the US Embassy may or may not help you because YOU DON'T HAVE A PASSPORT. Try that in Europe. You go EVERYWHERE with your passport - everywhere. You know - Don't leave home without it.
Texas, are you saying you carry your passport to the store every day?? LOL, you make it so easy to ignore your posts.
A political stunt by Holder.
lol arpaio is the KING of public stunts..which is part of the reason he is being sued..did you bother to even read the suit!? Reference the case of Stapley, who he made a media show out of arresting..even though they couldnt charge him with anything because the statute had passed years earlier..then there are the criminal judges he tried to charge with RICO, but couldnt provide one shred of evidence for. Pretty sure thats ILLEGAL
Good thing Arizona has millions to protect that fat f___.
i shall be sending money to arpaio for his defense against the racist obama regime.
you do that..and remember the sitting criminal judges he charged with RICO and provided no evidence to support it. This isnt black and white, its right and wrong, and his actions are ILLEGAL! Had Obama went and arrested that fed judge who emailed a joke about him, you all would be up in arms..well, the tables are turned..Arpaio didnt like the judges ruling against him in his political witch hunts, so he had them charged with RICO, and one with bribery..yet could not provide ANY evidence to support it..didnt even try, just charged them...Tell me, in what realm of reality is that legal to you?!!!!!?!?!?!? KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT FIRST!!!!
Wasn't ther someone arrested by DEA, part of DOJ, and put in a locked room for 5 days without food or water. It would seem that is unlawful, so why isn't Holder bringing up charges for that. Or the Black that beat 2 90year old senior citizens to death. Seems like Obama / Holder look the other way when it comes to Black on White crimes.
lol chuck, that happens daily at MCSO jails..nice try though.
david saint - troll
Hey Tom Perez you Twit who the hell do you think is coming over our southern borders Greeks and Russians hmm...
This is going to backfire in a huge way you f'ing idiot you are so out of touch with southern states such as Arizona, California and Texas.
People are scared & you seem to not give a @!$%# about who is coming over.
Do you job Prick and Deport Illegal Aliens who are here ILLEGALLY.
Illegal Aliens are killing Citizens like Jamile Shaw by Illegal Pukes like Pedro Espinoza. When he should have been deported by your sorry ass. You suck at your job so the States have to start protecting there citizens.
Your Truly
Naturalized American Citizen
Thanks Dan 8) my comment was collapsed previously 8)
About time! Now, when "tough Joe" end with his bones in jail, please don't force him to wear pink underwear... just let him go without! There's a lot of people there that will be very happy to see him!
Hey FEDS, back off! We, the 99% American People, have enough to worry about with the corrupt Republican corporate MONARCH political puppets that stole OUR GOVERNMENT & MADE SLAVES OF US! Go after them, the John Boneheads and the like that are just wasting the 99% American's tax dollars on top of their OIL & FINANCIAL MONARCHS collapsing our economy & bringing on GLOBAL ECONOMIC COLLAPSE all because of CAPITALISTIC GREED! THERE IS NO MORE DEMOCRACY for us, JUST SLAVERY! And, it's got to stop now!!
What is this _______trying to say? Needs to get his talking points down better, he is all over the place.
I agree, that just gave me a headache. Message not processed.
All U.S. citizens should support this man for doing what the Federal Government won't do. It's not racial profiling if you have reason to believe they are law breakers. And if you are Hispanic and speak little or no English that's a pretty good indication that you are here illegally. I'm sure all those with proper visas and citizenship are treated quite well.
I can't understand why the U.S. Government won't enforce it's own immigration laws.
MIC, you are aware he charged sitting criminal judges with RICO and failed to show any cause or evidence to support the charge right? The same judges who ruled against him in his failed efforts to silence and intimidate critics mind you...tell me, does America support that kind of draconian behavior??! Explain to me how that isnt against the law? Maybe instead of following the rhetoric, you can get acquainted with the facts first???
dave - apparently you do NOT live in any southern state. And you keep going on about that RICO case. (?) This is about ILLEGAL immigration -not RICO. Heaven forbid we wouldn't want to insult someone by asking for any kind of identification. Why would we want to do that? I mean really - just let ANY one in. (remember 9/11? they were probably stopped also. But what the heck? this is America right?) troll... ing again?
...i'll bet not one of the justice department's documents was in spanish! english is the official language of this country and those who are here should have a working knowledge of it, both spoken and written. the federal government can't/won't enforce the immigration laws that are on the books, but they will intimidate everyone into non-intervention in immigration matters by suing those who do enforce immigration laws.
fire.camp....
Actually, the United States does NOT have an official language. English is the 'defacto' standard, but there is nothing stated in law making English the "official" language. All attempts at doing so have been thwarted by, mostly left leaning politicians, as discriminatory.
I do not understand how this crooked, racist old coot has held onto his position for so many years. I think it speaks to the number of voters who are exactly like him and live in Maricopa county, all of Arizona for that matter, and keep him in office. Arizonans should be ashamed of themselves. I refuse to visit that state ever again until the "papers please" law is struck down and that Arpaio and other racist cops all over the state are fired. I also would like to see Arpaio sitting in a prison that, for instance, only speak and write in Japanese so he would then understand what it's like for inmates who only speak and read Spanish and are forced to sign documents they don't understand and punished for not following orders they don't comprehend. I really hate this guy and the sooner he and his ilk are kicked to the curb the better off Arizona and our country will be.
Scairp...
If you don't visit Arizona, you are more than welcome to visit Mexico, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France, Spain, Italy or any number of other countries... HOWEVER.. should you do so, I strongly suggest you keep in your possession your passport and/or other documentation proving who you are and where you come from. If you don't, expect to be potentially imprisoned, or at the least deported.
While other countries can do this, why can't The United States of America?
You are correct XD. My brother lives in Scotland but when he first went out there he was there with his fiancee, who is from Scotland, on a visitors visa he started working for his fiancee's family business and when the local authorities discovered this they tossed him on the first thing smokin' to the U.S. He had to go to the consulate in NYC and arrange to get a work visa. TFNJ - you are not a very tolerant person. The people to whom you are ranting are yourself.
H25 before I answer I have to be clear what you are referring to.
If you are referring to my comments on what people do for a living, then I will say I am being just as tolerant as those wanting every Hispanic stopped and harassed every time they leave their home. Those comments are intended for them, and I apologize to everyone else.
If not then please make clear what you mean.
there will come a time when we look back on the obama regime and use this time as a 'learning experience' in how not to run the country.
How true! Obama is ruining America. It really is not his fault. He had very little political experience and all the yahoos voted him into office. He promised "CHANGE". Problem is change can also mean for the worse and I think that is what we are seeing!
As far as Democrat or Republican, I am really sick of how the whole government has evolved. Why can't we balance a budget? Why is it ok to continually raise taxes instead of cutting excess spending?
Why do they vote on a healthcare system that they are not a part of?
Why do they get full benefits (pensions, insurance, etc.) after serving only one term?
If someone is in the country illegally, why is that ok? Or did they change the definition?
I am so sick of what our country has become. If you are a citizen of the US, speak ENGLISH. If I go to Germany to live, I would expect to learn the language to live there. Our forefathers came here and adapted and embraced the US and our laws, what changed?
AZ and this guy are trying to uphold the LAW. Why does everyone have a hard time with that? If you are ILLEGAL, then you should NOT be here PERIOD!
I support AZ and this Sheriff for trying to do the right thing. If these people choose to live in AZ then they should know that they may be stopped more often than if they lived in Nebraska, and carry their ID with them. That is the way it is. Don't like it move to another place!