Sheriff Joe has been doing a good job. His latest rounds of immigration sweeps wasn't done just on a whim, although the media would like you to believe that. It was done because a lot of businesses got tired of their parking lots being used as day labor centers. When they would protest, they would be threatened by the Illegal Aliens and intimidated by the various Illegal Alien support groups. The cities wouldn't do anything about it, so Sheriff Joe decided he would. I know it's ghastly to think of a Sheriff actually enforcing the law, but sometimes the unthinkable happens.

The article fails to mention the fact that the Police Chief in Guadalupe demanded that Sheriff Joe give his local agency 48 hours notice prior to any other illegal alien sweep in Guadalupe.

The Guadalupe sheriff is Hispanic, BTW.

You forgot to mention the $40 million plus Sheriff Joe has cost the taxpayers of Maricopa County in lawsuits for wrongful death, false imprisonment, mistreatment of inmates, etc. You also forgot to mention that Sheriff Joe, on Good Friday, interrupted services at a Catholic church in Guadeloupe to the point where other ministers and religious leaders from around the county were called in to help with situation. You also forgot to mention the letter of complaint these ministers sent to Arpaio, not because of his sweeps, but the fact that he was interrupting the religious service itself. You've also forgotten to mention the AMERICAN CITIZENS of Hispanic descent he has falsely imprisoned during these sweeps - and the harassment they faced when trying to prove they were falsely imprisoned.

The man is an embarrassment.

SJR
The Pink Flamingo

The Pink Flamingo is obviously a fiction writer. Ask the people of Maricopa about the sheriff. They know him best.

Oh, Sheriff Joe has his bad side and has made some huge mistakes and is normally incredibly heavy handed but he is spot on with immigration. Sheriff Joe has bosses, he can be reined in. He answers to the County Supervisors, the County Attorney and ULTIMATELY the voters. The various city chiefs of police only answer to the city manager.

Sheriff Joe also endorsed the Pink Taco, which shows he actually has a sense of humor...

That is quite an imagination you got there Frank. I know you really want to admire Sherrif Coltrane, and I know you really enjoy the fact that he is sadistic and has had wrongful death sutis filed against him. I\'m sure we can expect that somone like you will ignore any facts that paint pico train in a bad light becuase they are obviously lies manufactured by liberals to keep you from worhsipping your hero.

I get the filling you really like people who lay the smack down and if he tortured inmates all day long you\'d be singing his praises. I don\'t want to take this from you. Maybe we could bring back the georgia chain gangs and treat prisoners like we did in iraq? It is something people like you seem to like and who are we liberals to spoil your sadism?

So just be what you are to the best of your abiity. You know, a little man who feel better about his failures in life when he hears of someone else getting a beating.

More Sheriff Joes are needed in America.

The Richard Post Case
Richard Post was a paraplegic inmate arrested in 1996 for possession of marijuana and criminal trespass. Post was placed in a restraint chair by guards and his neck was broken in the process. The event, caught on video, shows guards smiling and laughing while Post is being injured. Because of his injuries, Post has lost much of the use of his arms.

The Brian Crenshaw Case
Brian Crenshaw was a blind inmate allegedly beaten into a coma by guards working under Arpaio. Crenshaw suffered injuries that included a perforated intestine and a broken neck. He later died at a local hospital. When asked about the incident, Arpaio insisted, \"The man fell off a bunk.\"[11]

Sheriff Arpaio has been criticized for allowing his deputies and posse members to engage in sex acts during an undercover prostitution \"sting\". In November, 2003, Sheriff\'s deputies arrested over 70 people for prostitution and solicitation. The officers arrested alleged prostitutes and their customers in more than thirty homes and ten massage parlors in the Phoenix area. Records indicated that several of the officers disrobed, fondled the breasts and genitals of the alleged prostitutes, and allowed their penises to be touched during the operation. The Maricopa County Attorney\'s Office stated that the Sheriff\'s office had gone too far in allowing this behavior, and sixty of the cases were thrown out. Several of the male customers in the case were prosecuted, however.[19]

. During his internment, evidence suggests detention officers shocked Norberg several times with a stun-gun. According to an investigation by Amnesty International, Norberg was already handcuffed and face down when officers dragged him from his cell and placed him in a restraint chair with a towel covering his face. After Norberg\'s corpse was discovered, detention officers accused Norberg of attacking them as they were trying to restrain him. The cause of his death, according to the Maricopa County medical examiner, was due to \"positional asphyxia\". Sheriff Arpaio investigated and subsequently cleared detention officers of any criminal wrongdoing.[10]

Norberg's parents filed a lawsuit against Joe Arpaio and his office. The lawsuit was settled for $8.25 million (USD) following a highly contentious legal battle. Despite vowing to never settle, the case quickly closed after it was disclosed the Sheriff\'s office had destroyed key evidence in the case.

In short Jayson. I think you are probably a realy bad man, for admiring a sadist. I think luckily for you though you are probably the kind of bad man that never feels shame.

"Alleged" "suggested" Bwahahahaha!!!! Only a far left wing fanatical nut job would believe these obvious lies. What entertainment these brain dead liberals are

So TDoR, I am guessing you don't like Sheriff Joe?

You forgot that he also has had the tendency to discredit and harass potential opponents in some of the contended elections so that they either quit or lose by horrible landslides.

"Alleged" "suggested" Bwahahahaha!!!!

I guess you missed the one where the videoo shows the officers laughing at the guy with broken kneck for the minor offence. Probably didn't notice either the 8 million dollar lawsuit he had to settle for destroying evidenc. also probably missed the incredlous story about a guy who suffered injuries that included a perforated intestine and a broken neck. and a sherrif who said he fell out of his bed.

Yes, you obviously enjoy being brain dead. Please don't think I want to interfere with that. people do what they love.

Arpaio was responsible for getting Butch Napolitano elected Governor in 2002. He was also a big supporter of the ultraliberal soft-on-crime con man Romney for President. A grandstanding RINO phony that gives McCain a run for his money.

Here\'s a good one. I\'m sure Jayson loves this.

1) temperatures inside Tent City often reach 120 degrees in the summer,

2)The sheriff brags that he spends more money feeding police dogs than he does inmates

The jail houses people who have not been tried yet (in additon to those who have), meaning their are poeple there who have been convicted of no crimes Not a one. Nada. getting to live with the lovely sherrif.

One man spent four years in these luxourious condistions forced to wear pink underwear before being aquitted of all charges.

Yip he was totally innocent and got to suffer an be humiliated by the kindly Sherrif.

Hey if Jayson ever goes to Arizona will someone accuse him of assualt or something? I\'m sure he will be aquitted but it will be fun to see him live with the good sherrif for a while before trial.

I guess that\'s the sadist in me. We can call it the dark side of democrats.

I guess you missed the one where the videoo shows

I'd like to see that video. Where do I get a copy? You Tube?

Probably didn't notice either the 8 million dollar lawsuit he had to settle for destroying evidence.

Where do I find that verdict?

The jail houses people who have not been tried yet (in additon to those who have),

Can you say bail?

One man spent four years in these luxourious condistions forced to wear pink underwear before being aquitted of all charges.

Case # and reference?

I guess that\'s the sadist in me. We can call it the dark side of democrats.

No , we have a different term for that: demagoguery.

HughS

Just because someone can't afford bail (even if he's denied it) doesn't give society the right to punish him. Until the accused is convicted by a jury and sentenced by a judge, society has only the right to detain him to make sure he's available for punishment if he is convicted.

How much and in what ways we punish convicts involves an entirely different set of much more complicated questions.

ebartley

Just because someone can't afford bail (even if he's denied it) doesn't give society the right to punish him.

That's correct. Are you saying that those in Maricopa County who are charged, not convicted and unable to make bail are being punished?

society has only the right to detain him to make sure he's available for punishment if he is convicted.

That we agree on. It's the definition of bail bond

I guess you missed the one where the videoo shows

I\'d like to see that video. Where do I get a copy? You Tube?

I bet a sadist like you would like to see the video. Sorry, instead I will give you a newspaper link that confirms the video exists and seems to back up\'s Richard Post\'s version of events\" If you want the video, to satisfy your sadisim you\'ll have to research it yourself.

here is the link: http://entertainment.phoenixnewtimes.com/1999-04-15/news/lies-and-videotape/

Probably didn\'t notice either the 8 million dollar lawsuit he had to settle for destroying evidence.

Where do I find that verdict?

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1999-01-14/news/the-8-million-victim/

The jail houses people who have not been tried yet (in additon to those who have),

Can you say bail?

Gosh your right, a person should be subjected to inhumane conditions if they can\'t afford bail. Gosh your smart. maybe you should get to wear pink underwear too.

One man spent four years in these luxourious condistions forced to wear pink underwear before being aquitted of all charges.

Case # and reference?

hmm, I have a better idea, why don\'t you try thinking? It\'s not hard and you might like it. You have know the conditions of the Sherrif\'s jail are rough and you know people go there pre-trial, stands to reason someone could have stayed in those conditions for a very long time(and that some of them would not be convicted). Don\'t worry I won\'t hold you to the thinking thing, I lost the link so I\'ll drop this one.

I guess that\\\'s the sadist in me. We can call it the dark side of democrats.

No , we have a different term for that: demagoguery.

demagoguery - impassioned appeals to the prejudices and emotions of the populace

Now since I was suggesting something sadistic happen to Jayson (him spending time with the good sherrif) that was sadisim not demagogery.
and since I have now given much evidence to prove my case it is most certainly not demagoguery.

Hugh, I really think you are a first class idiot, so I don\'t expect the fact that I have proven beyond doubt to any reaonsable person (meaning people other than yourself) that the sherrif has had to pay out millions, that video exists that demonstrates he may have to pay much more, that video exists that verifies the victim\'s story. That a man recieved major internal injures from falling of a bunk that is of a lower height than the bunk a child sleeps in. And that the sherrif is just a sadistc man given his own playground.

Don\'t worry, I know you like to believe in your sadists, so I\'m sure I\'ll see you defeding torture on another thread.

HughS:

ebartley:
Just because someone can't afford bail (even if he's denied it) doesn't give society the right to punish him.

HughS:

That's correct. Are you saying that those in Maricopa County who are charged, not convicted and unable to make bail are being punished?

I would consider being imprisoned in 120 degree heat a punishment -- wouldn't you?

Look, if you're skeptical of Darkworld's claims, I sympathize, but snarky comments about bail just aren't relevant here.

Darkwood,

Your links above (which I can't replicate without being spamtrapped) don't produce any text relevant to Sheriff Joe in my browser. It looks like it's just a framework with the actual text missing.

I would consider being imprisoned in 120 degree heat a punishment -- wouldn\'t you?

Look, if you\'re skeptical of Darkworld\'s claims, I sympathize, but snarky comments about bail just aren\'t relevant here

I know you are not on my side but don\'t forget the pink underwear. the Sherrif is very proud of making people wear them.

Also, to the skeptics. Read the articles, the evidence is against the good Sherrif.

They work when I click on them. Might try posting the link in a google search.

Darkworld
You haven't proved a thing. Your links are worthless. Your argument less so.

If you care at all about inmate rights then show us some street cred. If you know what you are talking about, then you know what I am referring to. You know, Salvation Army involvement, halfway house sponsor testimony, AA, NA and other relief organizations that are coalescing around opposition to the Sheriff.

You are mouthing trial lawyer complaints and denial. Do you really care about Arpaio's inmates? Get involved.

As I said before, you are sounding like a pretender.

Darkwood,

The links produce framework-only pages in both Windows Firefox and Windows IE. Punching them into google produces a link to the page in which, but the page still doesn't load.

I found a couple of separate links which I'll see if I can post individually.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0409sr-fhsheriff0410-ON.html">http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0409sr-fhsheriff0410-ON.html">http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0409sr-fhsheriff0410-ON.html

Much sound and fury from Saban, competing against Arpaio for the elected position of sheriff, but there's this excerpt:

He said the Sheriff's Office won the past six cases.

"I testified in three of them. We won," Arpaio said.

Saban asked about the thousands of other lawsuits filed by inmates, suspects and groups that have cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.

"He certainly may have won the last six, but look at the ones he has lost," Saban said.

Not clear to me if the political opponent is exaggerating, or how much that is money was in verdicts / settlements vs. lawyers, but it's something. Also not clear to me how much your average prison runs per prisoner for the same costs -- filing lawsuits is something a lot of prisoners in a lot of prison systems do.

Weird. I can't post a link, but I can post a URL which automatically turns into a link?

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0425manning-letter0425.html

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors this week agreed to pay out $925,000 to settle two cases that involved the Sheriff's Office.

One was a wrongful-death claim brought by the family of a 28-year-old man who suffered a heart attack while in custody. The Sheriff's Office and the Correctional Health Services, a county department responsible for giving inmates medical care, split the $800,000 settlement equally.

...

The county will also pay out $125,000 to Nick Tarr, arrested by sheriff's deputies six years ago and charged with impersonating a police officer.

...

Tarr was accused of impersonating an officer. The citation was eventually dropped, but Tarr said the incident had hurt his ability to land work. He sued the sheriff.

The first might well be a matter of something happen having happened on X's watch, so X gotta pay. The second - well, I don't want to excerpt more than that in this comment here, but it sounds like the man was a security guard who played a police officer in some television commercials the sheriff didn't like.

ebartley and DW

What are the summer temps at these institutions?

http://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/tal/index.jsp

http://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/mia/index.jsp

Are they air conditioned?

As I said earlier, neither of you show any personal knowledge of actual inmate conditions and their experience.

Darkworld,

Pink underwear just doesn't register on my "bad treatment" register.

HughS,

First, I clicked on your links and looked around there. As far as I can tell, those links don't provide an answer to your question. And frankly, you should make your own assertions.

Second, the answer to your question has nothing to do with the question of what is appropriate treatment of non-convicted detainees. I am fully aware that they get shafted in many American prison systems. Are you asserting that this is not wrong?

I believe this is one of the links Darkworld was trying to reference.

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1997-01-23/news/jailers-show-a-paraplegic-who-s-boss/1

ebartley

The answer is that neither are air conditioned. The heat and humidity are stifling for both detainees and staff.

As for detainees in FDC Miami or FDC NYC, formerly known as MCI Miami and MCI NYC, the detainees would give anything for a desert tent. Arpaio knows this. He plays the media for the fools they are. He knows how to manage a prison population.

HughS,

I'm perfectly willing to believe that inmates have it rougher elsewhere. That doesn't mean it's okay. It would be a good argument that complaints ought to be directed elsewhere ... except for the fact that Sheriff Joe makes a production of his inmates having it rough. When he does that, the fact that not all of his inmates are people we're entitled to punish becomes very important.

Do you think it's acceptable to imprison someone who has never been convicted of any crime, but who can't make bail, or has been denied bail, or just hasn't seen the judge yet, in a tent outdoors in 110+ degree weather?

For some complexity about Sheriff Joe ...

Looking around found an article about a singing contest modeled after American Idol, held in his prison.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0324idle0324.html

More than 100 inmates initially signed up to test their singing talents after Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced the contest last month. Inmate voting pared the field to 15 and last week to the final six.

On Friday, the finalists performed in front of about 1,700 inmates and three judges: Arpaio, Cooper and an Elvis impersonator played by detention Officer Bret Kaiser.

"I have a tough reputation. We took everything away from these people," Arpaio said. "But we do try to teach our inmates. This is just another (way of) building up self-esteem."

Ref #35. No person that has not been convicted of a crime should be in those conditions. However; our military is doing that in Iraq.

Now if those poor innocent people in AZ are getting screwed, what about our GI's?

I emailed the sheriff and asked him if he would lend his expertise to our county sheriff. The reason why, is real simple. Sheriff Joe doesn't have a lot of repeat offenders. They learn a lesson.

So what is your problem, another bleeding heart who doesn't know manure from real life? Please get the message, FUCK the punks who cannot/will not conform to our laws.

More complexity about Sheriff Joe:

I came across several references to him running the only fully-accredited high school in an American prison, but they weren't from news sites - opinion sites, the sheriff's official site, a supporing site, etc. I finally found a reference in a story about him suing the Superintendent of Schools to release money for the school (she "was indicted on 25 counts of theft, misusing public money, fraud and conflict of interest".)

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/1216dowling1216.html

Arpaio started his school he calls "Hard Knocks High" in 1997. It is the only one in the nation with a sheriff as its principal.

Like any other public school, it receives money annually from the Arizona Department of Education. By state law, that money is funneled to the jail school through the county schools office.

Correct me, if I'm wrong here, but didn't THE JUDGE put a great many of these fellas in jail?.. Wasn't it the judicial system that held them over for a hearing, or trial?.. or does Joe do all the legal stuff himself.

Allen (Ref #37),

Kindly tell me from whence you get the notion that I am a "bleeding heart" and why you feel the need to insult me, given that you've just agreed to the only moral assertion I have made in this thread?

120 degrees is no big deal, especially if you have a tent in which you can lounge around in in the shade. I grew up there, we worked and played, outside in those temps. i've also been in some pretty hot, sweaty, damp places in this globe and you get used to it.

Fact is, a good size portion of this world has temps in excess of 100 and people, as well as criminals and convicts work just fine in those temps. Besides, in AZ it's a dry heat!

Pink underwear doesn't get stolen, and stripes are slimming. The chain gangs are/were on a strictly voluntary basis. Missed was the fact that a couple of years of starting the chain gangs for men, they started them for women, at the women prisoners request. It let them get out of the prison, get some sun and exercise. They also get paid for the work. Not much, but makes then a better bargain than an illegal alien.

Ran56,

A judge would set the bail amount, or deny bail altogether. This has very little to do with guilt or innocence -- it's based on what the judge thinks it will take to guarantee that the accused will show up for trial. Someone from another state (or worse yet, another country) might be denied bail even though the evidence is flimsy - and seen as such by the judge - because the judge thinks he's too much of a flight risk.

Furthermore, even if a judge is fully convinced that the accused is guilty, the accused is Constitutionally and morally entitled to a jury trial.

Interesting side note..after 27 years in law enforcement, anyone know what state ALL CONVICTS do not want to return to? The only prison system, at least in the 90's that operated in the black.

And bartley, don't be so thin skinned bud, you make valid points, even tho I don't agree with them.. biased, I'm afraid.

Ran56,

You haven't said anything rude -- that was Allen snarking at me for no reason I could detect.

I believe that the primary point of a prison system is just retribution. Deterrence, quarantine, and rehabilitation are all good things, but they must be bounded by the extent to which we're entitled to punish people.

Precisely because I believe in punishment, I think it is crucial to draw a bright line between the convicted and everyone else -- accused, witnesses, John Doe from off the street, etc. One group of people can be rightfully punished(*) -- the other can't.

(*) We could have a healthy and lengthy debate about how much we are morally entitled to punish convicts for which crimes, in what ways and to what extent it's wise to, and so on. But that's a different debate, and a much more complicated one.

Let none of us forget that this sadistic sheriff is just that, a county sheriff. A great number of his inmates/victims are people who have never been convicted of a crime, or even seen an arraignment hearing to plead their case. You want to give this weirdo a job at Chino or San Quentin, that's fine. There are people in our society who are warrented his treatment, and some who are not.

"Joe Arpaio was the child of immigrants from Naples, Italy. His mother died during childbirth and his father had little interest in raising young Joe. As a result, Arpaio spent his childhood being shuffled back and forth between different families, depending on who was able to care for him." -- wikipedia.com biography

If he wants to take out his sick life and childhood on other human beings, at least let it be people who have been actually tried and convicted of murdering, raping, and/or assaulting other human beings.

One man's "sadist" is another man's "man who overcame tremendous hardships in life and is doing his part to make our society a better and safer place."

Too bad Ryan can't show a little tolerance for Sheriff Joe's diverse viewpoint and unique perspective.

J.

I don't know a lot about this Sheriff Joe. From what I've read here though, it seems to me he's tough, but tempered with compassion as well. Liberals would call it 'mean'. Conservatives would probably call it 'tough love'.

Just as a side note: people, not just prisoners, worked in 120 degree heat before air conditioning was invented. Was it inhumane then? If not, why is it now? My parents made me mow grass in the sweltering sun in south Florida - I shoulda sued 'em!

I won't comment on the lawsuits as I haven't read about them and don't know all the details - just suffice it to say that I'm not convinced at this point that he's so evil. Yes, he should be held responsible to a degree for the actions of his staff, but unless someone can show me video of the Sheriff himself standing over someone, pointing and laughing, I'll reserve judgment on him. Sometimes people cross lines and it seems that some working under him did indeed do that. I'm assuming they've been punished individually. But much like those who blame everything on Bush (as if he is a master puppeteer over everyone's lives) they will choose one man to blame every gripe on and that man seems to be Sheriff Joe in this case.

And doesn't he have a 90% conviction rate?

Please understand that Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Maricopa Attorney may have you fanatically supporting his racist anti-immigrant pro-king Bush agenda but now you are not the only fanatics. We are the fanatics against your racist, anti-constitutional, anti-American swill.
Leonard Clark
chairman of the Joe Arpaio and Andrew Thomas Recalls
William Crum
treasurer

this sheriff is a true law inforcement officer,and an American citizen. I wish the rest of the nations police forces and city goverments would do the right thing and follow this mans ethics

I'm sorry, if you don't live here in Maricopa County Arizona, please keep your remarks anti Sheriff Joe to your self. He's a lot of things, but I'd rather have an egotist that enforced the law than a self effacing idiot that sat on his hands. Since we passed anti Immigrant laws of many stripes, you wouldn't believe the absence of traffic. Driving and walking is almost now a pleasure. If you don't like Joe, too bad, you can kiss my.

We've been talking about Sheriff Arpaio a lot around my house and where I work lately. We wish he would run for President!!