The Justice
Department on Thursday sued Joe Arpaio, a prominent
In a 32-page civil
rights lawsuit against Arpaio and his Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, the
Justice Department contended that Arpaio's campaign against illegal immigration
- including traffic stops and sweeps of homes and workplaces - had resulted in
a "pattern or
practice of unlawful discrimination" aimed at Latinos.
Arpaio's focus on
immigration enforcement has eroded the relationship between law enforcement and
the Latino community, with Latinos growing increasingly wary of cooperating with
the authorities when they are victims or witnesses of crimes. The lawsuit also
argues that the resources devoted to the sweeps have required the sheriff's
office to put a lower priority on traditional local law enforcement
responsibilities, like investigating rapes and domestic violence.
"The United States is not seeking, and
has never sought, monetary damages or attorney's fees in connection with our
case," Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's
civil rights division, said in a news conference. The goal, Perez said, is "to fix the
problems" and to "ensure that the necessary policies, practices and oversight
are in place" to prevent them from happening again.
The conduct of the
Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and Arpaio
"is neither constitutional nor effective law enforcement," the Justice
Department argued in court papers. "The defendants’
violations of the Constitution and laws of the
The lawsuit could
proceed quickly or slowly, Perez said, depending upon the sheriff's cooperation.
"I am confident that we could forge solutions that are sustainable that make the
community safer," he said "but you have to have the will on both sides to do
so." Raw Story Citing the sheriff's
lack of cooperation in this investigation, his "stonewalling" in an earlier investigation from 2008 and the MCSD's
failure to comply with the ruling in a 1997 civil rights suit, Asst. Attorney
General Perez said, "Thus far, that will on
the part of the Sheriff's office and the Sheriff himself has proven to be
elusive." Raw Story "Undeniably, justice has been delayed in
this case," he said. "But we are here today to say that it will not be
denied." Raw
Story The ACLU responded
to news of the Justice Department's suit with a statement from Cecillia Wang,
director of the organizations Immigrants Rights Project that read, in part, "By
bringing this suit, the Justice Department has taken an important step toward
ending the rampant racial profiling and illegal stops by the Maricopa County
Sheriff’s Office." The Supreme Court is
weighing the 2010 The lawsuit also
charged that the criteria the unit uses to stop, search and arrest people -
including detaining Hispanics who do not speak English and are not carrying
papers proving their citizenship, and who appear to be nervous or have a strong
smell of body odor - fell short of the probable cause required before police may
stop and detain people. NY Times Non-English speakers
who are arrested and held in the county jail face further problems, the
complaint said. Jail officials issue instructions only in English, and punish
people who do not obey. NY Times
AN/SM
- Latest News
- Top Hits