Joe Arpaio Miffed Over Elementary School Reading Event (VIDEO)

Sheriff Joe Arpaio Miffed Over Elementary School Reading Event

America's self-proclaimed toughest sheriff is miffed at elementary school administrators after he said he was invited to read to a group of Phoenix sixth-graders -- and then uninvited for being considered too controversial.

Arizona-based station KTVK reports that Arpaio signaled his belief that the invitation to Sahuaro Elementary School was rescinded for political reasons.

"I'm a little concerned because I'm being accused of being too controversial and too many of the kids' parents are Hispanic that you would cancel my talk," he told the local outlet.

But the Washington Elementary School District paints a different picture, saying there was simply a scheduling conflict and that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is still welcome to read to the children.

Arpaio issued a critical news release about the district on Monday.

District spokeswoman Carol Donaldson says the teacher who invited Arpaio and district officials were blindsided by the harsh news release. She says it was rife with inaccuracies.

"I don't know where the miscommunication happened, I wasn't part of any of the conversations," she said, according to KTVK. "It's unfortunate because we sure didn't want to hurt anybody's feelings."

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