Joe Arpaio Lawsuit: Justice Department Complaint Reveals Disturbing Allegations

The Justice Department filed suit Thursday against Maricopa County, Ariz. Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his office for unlawfully discriminating against Latinos, and in turn, disregarding basic constitutional rights.

Arpaio said Wednesday that he'll fight the charges in court. "And then we'll find out the real story. They're telling me how to run my organization," he said. "I'd like to get this resolved, but I'm not going to give up my authority to the federal government. It's as simple as that."

Here are some of the disturbing allegations from the 32-page lawsuit about the conduct of Arpaio and his office. (Read the full lawsuit here, and the story about it here.)

Maricopa County Employees Call Latinos Derogatory Names

Jail employees frequently refer to Latinos as "wetbacks," "Mexican bitches," and "stupid Mexicans," according to the lawsuit. An email that included a photography of a Chihahua dressed in swimming gear with the caption "A Rare Photo of a Mexican Navy Seal" was widely distributed by sheriff's office supervisors.

Officers Mistreat Latinos In Routine Traffic Enforcement

The lawsuit recounts how a Latina woman who was five-months pregnant and a U.S. citizen was stopped as she pulled into the driveway. "After she exited her car, the officer then insisted that she sit on the hood of the car. When she refused, the officer grabbed her arms, puled them behind her back, and slammed her, stomach first, into the vehicle three times. He then dragged her to the patrol car and shoved her into the backseat," reads the complaint.

She was cited for failure to provide identification, which was later changed to failure to provide proof of insurance. The issue was resolved when the woman proved she had insurance to a court.

In yet another case, two officers followed a Latina U.S. citizen a quarter of a mile to her home without flashing their lights. When she arrived home, they insisted that she stay in the car. The reason for the stop was a "non-functioning license plate light." After she tried to enter her home, officers took her to the ground, kneed her in the back and handcuffed her. She was brought to a Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) substation and cited for "disorderly conduct," which was later dismissed, according to the lawsuit.

Latinos Are Indiscriminately Detained In Immigration Raids

A Latina born in the United States was taken into custody for four hours in a raid to determine her immigration status. Arpaio was quoted in response, "That's just normal police work. You sometimes take people in for probable cause for questioning and they're released." The suit notes that the reason for her detainment -- being Latina and present during a raid -- were insufficient.

Arpaio And MCSO Staff Foster Discrimination Against Latinos

Arpaio received a letter reading, "If you have dark skin, then you have dark skin. Unfortunately, that is the look of the Mexican illegals who are here illegally. ... I'm begging you to come over ... and round them all up." The sheriff labeled this as "intelligence" and forwarded to his deputy chief of enforcement operations for someone to "handle this."

Upon receiving a letter backing the policy of "stopping Mexicans to make sure they are legal," he sent a letter of appreciation to the authors and kept three copies for himself, according to the lawsuit.

An email circulated among MCSO staff had an image of a fake driver's license from "Mexifornia" and listed the driver's class as "illegal alien."

MCSO Employees Fail To Provide Assistance To Prisoners With Limited English

The failure to provide adequate language assistance caused some female Latina prisoners to remain with sheets or pants soiled from menstruation, alleges the suit.

Others have allegedly been put in solitary confinement for "extended periods of time" for not understanding a command in English.

MCSO Arrests Arpaio Critics Expressing Their First Amendment Rights

The suit claims on multiple occasions that people were arrested for merely applauding against the office's immigration policies. The judge presiding over the case of the arrestees found that the deputy who made the arrest "believes it is his role to make uncomfortable anyone who express[es] views that disagree with the sheriff" and that he had "trampled" over the First Amendment. The court acquitted them.

Earlier on HuffPost:

Comments

[momjones]

12:42 PM on 06/25/2012

This slug has a long history of civil rights abuses which he arrogantly defends. He should be held in contempt of humanity

Tased to death: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl9H5dL2w1E

[oceandan]

12:44 PM on 05/22/2012

Everything in the law suit and in your recounting of it in this article is baseless and unfounded. If there was any shred of evidence to support the allegations of the suit and this silly article, Arpaioi would have been removed from office years ago.

For example, go to Para. 62 on Page 10 of the formal suit filing and read this tale. If it were true that a woman 5 months pregnant was slammed 3 times against a patrol car by a cop then abused some more, the officer would be charged and the law suits would have been filed the next day. If this did happen, then release the name of the alleged victim. And why didn't she file a case against the cop if it did happen?

As usual, this is a nother exaggerated, unsubstantiated article and law suit without merit. It's a bunch of hyperbole dreamed up by frustrated progressive dingbats who are determined to do anything, even lie, to remove Arpaio from office. Arpaio is a guy who every day deals with the chaos and mayhem of these illegal invaders within his jurisdiction. He cleans up their messes so that the decent, law-abiding citizens of MC can have some feeling of safety and security in their lives. They should erect a statue to honor Arpaio.

[dfromtennessee]

01:37 PM on 05/27/2012

The DOJ does not normally file suit if there is no evidence Oceandan. The stories included in the article stem from incidents as far back as 2006 to the present. How long has he held his position? Perhaps he was a good lawman at one time, but it seems he and his posse are going off the deep end, sort of like your hyperbolic comment.

[chumly1]

10:12 AM on 06/22/2012

http://www.scribd.com/doc/88738575/Thomas-Aubuchon-Alexander-opinion#fullscreen

[point2make]

03:15 PM on 05/16/2012

Arpaio reminds me of a sheriff they had in Texas in the 70's. If people were traveling thru San Jacinto county on a certain part of the highway, they would pull them over just because they didn't like the way they looked - you know "hippies." Terrible things happened. Some young men disappeared and to this day they are still missing. There was a book written about it called "Terror On Highway 59" by Steve Sellers. The sheriff's name was James "Humpy" Parker. Someone needs to get a grip on Arpaio.

[wendoxia]

11:00 AM on 05/15/2012

here, joe I want to help you out little and get one thing off your plate.http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/birthers/birthcertificate.asp....

[Will737]

04:25 AM on 05/15/2012

One of the things that Arpaio is sweating these days is that Arpaio's confederate in attacking other Maricopa County officials and MC judges, a guy named Andrew Thomas, has been disbarred for the actions Thomas and Arpaio took together against political so-called foes.
Don't get me wrong Arpaio can't be disbarred as he, a high school graduate, could never have a law license, but the charges against Andrew Thomas that got Thomas disbarred are for corruption as a public official. There is a Federal Grand Jury out there for that subject. For your amusement I offer you the disbarment findings because it's more like a circus than like the offices where justice is administered. But be warned, the facts of this case read like a novel of the most bizarre fiction. These are two really odd, meglomanic dudes. http://www.scribd.com/doc/88738575/Thomas-Aubuchon-Alexander-opinion#fullscreen
It makes me wonder how much in Cocaine or other drugs were consumed by these two while doing their duty that they thought that they could get away with any of this stuff, much less that they thought any of it was appropriate. Second warning, the Arizona Bar Conclusion is 247 pages long.

[USAmerican100]

10:12 PM on 05/14/2012

If Justice and the other departments would do their jobs this wouldn't be an issue, we would not have over 10 million illegal aliens in the US. But the government worker unions want them here, so they are here. Who can sue the feds for not doing their jobs?

[Will737]

04:59 AM on 05/15/2012

Well before Ronald Reagan and by Ronald Reagan and all his successors, this so-called "issue" has been punted down the road. That long of a border just cannot be "defended" successfully. And if you had some practical way of deporting 12 million people, perhaps somebody would vote for you to do it.

[USAmerican100]

07:17 PM on 05/15/2012

Eisenhower did it. Nobody has wanted to do it since him.

[voyager48]

03:35 PM on 05/19/2012

DOJ estimates that illegal immigrants have a 75% chance of successfully entering the US. Extrapolating apprehension figures gives that 1.8 million people tried to enter the US illegally last year, of which some 430k were caught. Net of deportations that means we had a net gain of over 1 million illegals last year, and teh figures have been similar for the last couple of years.

Now the pro-illegal's will try to tell you that the illegal population is down from 14million and has been stable at around 11 million for the last couple of years.

THE ONLY WAY that this would be in any way possible is if 1 million illegals self deported each year (at their own expense). That means mass deportation is not only possible but viable and happening on a grand scale as we speak.

All we have to do is switch off the jobs magnet and actually enforce immigration laws already on the books - and the situation will resolve itself in short order!

[bampiesdude]

04:28 AM on 05/14/2012

So many people are so thin skinned, sue happy, naive and trying to be politically correct that it is hard to just get along anymore. Maybe if they just believed "love thy neighbor as thyself" life would be easier.

[FreeThinker in AZ]

01:13 PM on 05/13/2012

Obama just drove a wedge into the GOP in AZ . .. That will divide them . . .The break off group that supports Joe will have to be labeled sociopaths...Or uninformed voters...

The killings the torture the abuse and mistreatment are inhumane and are sociopathic behavior.

[bampiesdude]

04:21 AM on 05/14/2012

No wedge! If Obama and his team were doing their jobs then Joe wouldn't have to and there wouldn't be a problem.

[FreeThinker in AZ]

09:48 AM on 05/14/2012

So Obama was supposes to investigate the over 400 sex crimes in Maricopa County that were mostly sex crimes on children.???

And you think Joe is doing his job. . . Comical.....

[voyager48]

03:50 PM on 05/19/2012

No wedge - saying something loud and often does not make it true.

To most people in AZ - Sherriff Joe has repeatedly been tried and convicted in the court of pro-illegal opinions is a huge smoke screen and can anyone say "cry wolf"?. After years of trying to pin something on him - still nothing concrete??? But no one is above the law, so let the chips fall where they should on that one,

This in no way change the fact that AZ has double the national rate of illegal immigrants in its population. Or that 50% of the illegals coming into the country do it through AZ. Or that 1 in 5 Hispanics in AZ are illegals. Not profiling or xenophobia - just facts. The vast majority of people that will be arrested for immigration violations WILL be Hispanic and more than likely Mexican. Deal with it!

Under SB1070 illegals have far more protection from profiling than under federal law. Most of SB1070 will stand and given Real ID and Secure Communities - enforcement momentum is building. Only when we have a reliable means to regulate it - can we have any meaningful discussion about any immigration related issue.

[Picosa]

01:48 PM on 06/25/2012

AZ - Sheriff Joe has repeatedly been tried and convicted and Joe has cost over $50 million to taxpayers paid out to his victims.

[casinolover91]

08:55 AM on 05/13/2012

It seems to me that ALL the allegations against Arpaio can be explained. It comes under the Freedom of Speech. That it is right for him to use that language against anybody? NO! But I really don't think it's 'against the law'. He would have had to act on those insults and that will have to be proved. Words are cheap.

[TS]

03:00 AM on 05/14/2012

So you can say anything you want however sexist or racist in your place of work without a problem? That's very interesting. I'd suggest you take a closer look at legal decisions on that matter. Your freedom of speech can be and often is restricted as a result of your employment. We're not talking about what joe said or didn't say while he was out sitting on his front porch here.

[JETexas]

11:47 AM on 07/03/2012

Murder is a crime do your research

[SpiritServant]

04:59 AM on 05/13/2012

There are many Americans that believe the President's birth certificate is fake. Sheriff Joe has every right to do what he's done, without being accused of being racial. It's very obvious that the attack against him is nothing but retalitory. There has always been a big question about the birth certificate. Since there are now greater concerns that it's fake, it needs to go to the Supreme Court and proven prior to another election.

[HowthCastle]

12:20 PM on 05/13/2012

What's your point? Is Sherriff Arpaio being sued for denying the birth certificate? Nonsense!

[TS]

03:03 AM on 05/14/2012

If the investigation was started by the Bush administration, and it was, how is pursuing the legal action based on the results of that investigation 'retaliatory'? That's nonsense. You also ignore the obvious issue with your theory which is it's Sheriff Joe who went all birther as the investigation produced possible criminal activity. It didn't go the other way around.

[SpiritServant]

03:51 AM on 05/14/2012

The news stated that the investigation was started by Sheriff Joe, private investigators and law enforcment officials, who believed the birth certificate needed to be proven. Why would the Bush Admin have anything to do with it? It's happened while Pres Obama is in office. I think Pres Obama is pushing his weight around. He's trying to destroy the Sheriff and I don't think it's about racial issues. I absolutely think it's retalitory and bullying. It's the justice dept against a small group of people, to back them down. I hope the Sheriff doesn't back down but I hope he sues the Dem National Committee. That is where they would have to take it, since the Dem Natl Committee is responsible to insure the Pres is in office justly. It has not been proven without a doubt and if there is any question, it should be. What if it were proven to be false. Can you imagine having a Pres in office who has no integrity about something that is critical to the Presidency? He is intimidated. If he had nothing to hide, he'd ignore it. President's don't have time for petty things.

[Schotom]

03:26 AM on 05/13/2012

This is an insane, super ego-centric madman with visions of grandeur who has authority and a gun plus an armed staff loyal to him. He is a 21st Century Adolph Hitler right here in the United States. He puts every citizen of Maricopa County who crosses his path in imminent danger of harm or death. He has to be stopped before his psychopathic brutal ways kill more prisoners. He has to be considered "armed & dangerous" to anyone who confronts him or disagrees with him. He may well be the most dangerous public official in the United States. I am so glad that my former associates in the FBI are on his backside. He is a menace that needs to be prevented from moving forward another step. I am totally surprised that over the years someone hasn't tried to take him out permanently. I wouldn't condone it, but it wouldn't surprise me either.

[FreeThinker in AZ]

01:56 PM on 05/13/2012

He puts every citizen of Maricopa County who crosses his path in imminent danger of harm or death..

That you say is so true f&f

[MrAlienx]

01:28 AM on 05/13/2012

About damn time!!! What took so long?

[FreeThinker in AZ]

01:59 PM on 05/13/2012

This is perfect timing, Obama just drove a wedge into the GOP in AZ...

[joeblow]

04:11 PM on 05/12/2012

No way, Jose!!

[pattithepolitico]

03:57 PM on 05/12/2012

What a racist. It just kills me to think that there are people out there like this man.

[point2make]

12:36 PM on 05/12/2012

Just wondering if he used taxpayer money to investigate Obama's birth certificate? He seems to think it's "his organization."

[mx5az]

06:03 PM on 07/14/2012

I'm not a Sheriff Joe fan. Moreover, I'm a fan of documented proof. As of 6/20/12 no taxpayer money has been used to investigate to issue. Go the link below for detailed information.

http://www.wnd.com/2012/06/county-refuses-funds-for-sheriff-joes-obama-probe/