Joe Arpaio Defends Sarah Palin, Blasts Fellow Sheriff Clarence Dupnik

Maricopa County, Ariz. Sheriff Joe Arpaio weighed in Tuesday on the aftermath of Saturday's shootings in Tucson, saying that any blame assigned to Sarah Palin for the incident was misdirected and that Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik had been too eager to turn the situation political.

"Why are they blaming her?" Arpaio asked of Palin, who has faced criticism for her use of a campaign image that featured crosshairs on a number of congressional districts. "They put me in [crosshairs]. They put me in KKK uniforms. They call me Hitler and everything else. They say I should be dead. They've got rewards out for me. So why isn't anybody talking about this sheriff? I'm talking about the Democrats. They're investigating me, the Justice Department, but why aren't they concerned about this sheriff?"

Arpaio also accused fellow Sheriff Clarence Dupnik of helping to fuel the politicization of the tragedy by blaming "vitriol" from commentators such as Rush Limbaugh for the attacks, a stance that has led to his rebuke by some Republican legislators.

"But I think this has gone into politics now. People are using this for their own political agenda. I don't think that's right," Arpaio said. "I think we should let the criminal justice system do its job and not have too much pretrial publicity to help this guy and give him a chance to defend himself, and probably utilize statements that have been made to his benefit to try to get out of this."

Arpaio said, however, that the final decision rests with Dupnik.

"Sheriffs are elected, like I am, thank god. I'm sure if he was a police chief he'd probably be fired tomorrow," he said. "I'm not trying to defend him, but he's the one that runs that sheriff's office. I do not."

While Arpaio took the stance that lawmakers shouldn't react with new legislation concerning First or Second Amendment rights, the controversial sheriff appeared to urge caution in the words that public figureheads chose to use going forward.

"I think we have to very careful about what we say, especially law-enforcement officials or government officials," Arpaio said. "I think right now I think we ought to shut our mouth and let the justice system take its course."

WATCH:

Comments

[Sean Connolly]

07:18 PM on 01/24/2011

wow palin looks really sexy there... me likey ^_^

[dvtaz]

09:15 AM on 01/19/2011

Keep up the good work Joe. All the personal attacks from the liberal left only prove how effective you are in enforcing the law. If Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik had been as effective as you things may have turned out differently.

[petit chaton]

10:42 AM on 01/13/2011

Let's see...one of these two sheriffs is under federal investigation by the grand jury, and one isn't. One has historically put himself in front of national media in regards to political debate, one has been thrust into it either by events or by the other sheriff's political party. Which one is currently handling a difficult situation in his own county and which one is now sticking his face into it because he is obsessed with the media? Joe, wouldn't you be better served by spending more time with your defense lawyers?

[thepoliticalcat]

07:01 PM on 01/12/2011

It's a pity Sheriff Joe failed to take his own sterling advice.

[hatrickpenry]

06:06 PM on 01/12/2011

Hopefully there will be enough public outcry to have Dupnick recalled. There are reasons he jumped out in front of every camera he could find on Saturday.

[Jana Peterson]

04:11 PM on 01/12/2011

Oh look, an angry old Republican.

[VerizonCells]

03:50 PM on 01/12/2011

Really?

[Pennstategirl]

03:30 PM on 01/12/2011

Please Sheriff Arpaio stay in Maricopa. Dubnik is doing great in Pima.

[dwelchnz]

03:19 PM on 01/12/2011

Sheriff Joe comes out in favor of violent rhetoric? Mac and Oscar have a say:
http://macintosh-and-oscar.com/2011/01/12/born-to-be-mild/

[tinka]

02:58 PM on 01/12/2011

Isn’t this the sheriff who made inmates sing and dance for their supper over the holidays if they wanted a traditional holiday dinner? This same man who wants to teach us about humanity now!

[Whatchutalkinabout]

02:26 PM on 01/12/2011

So when it comes to an opinion about Jared Loughner, who would know better? Sherif Dupnik or his best friend?

http://video-cdn.abcnews.com/110112_gma_banfield.mp4

[VerizonCells]

03:52 PM on 01/12/2011

The video lost me at Ashley Banfield.

[Whatchutalkinabout]

04:04 PM on 01/12/2011

Seriously. Here is a person who knows him. His "opinion" carries more weight than the sherif.

[Brian McPhillips]

02:25 PM on 01/12/2011

Why is th name "God" in lower case in the article? As far as I can recall there is only one. Does the Huffington Post not agree?

[dwelchnz]

03:19 PM on 01/12/2011

Thousands actually.

[VerizonCells]

03:53 PM on 01/12/2011

I don't... Really, this is what you got from reading this, a lower case god.

[Dj Haze Peterson]

02:15 PM on 01/12/2011

Where the heel did they get this interviewer? HOOTER'S? This is the most staged thing I've ever seen!

[hackerblaster]

12:44 PM on 01/12/2011

Of course he would defend her. After all, he did give her a pair of his pink panties.

[IcedTee63]

11:42 AM on 01/12/2011

Joe Arpaio? Is that the best you could come up with to come to your defense? So there is something lower than the bottom of the barrell?

It seems like the roaches hung around longer than your supposed friends when the lights were turned on you.