BY LINDA BENTLEY | DECEMBER 28, 2011
Piling on the political vendetta against Arpaio
U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow ruled any Hispanics stopped since Jan. 1, 2007 may file suit against MCSO in a class action complaint
PHOENIX – As they say in Hollywood, it’s all in the timing. And the timing of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (DOJ) Dec. 15 report to Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery stating it has reasonable cause to believe the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) engages in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional policing, couldn’t be met with more skepticism.
For starters, the report was released on the anniversary of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s murder, a result of the flawed Operation Fast and Furious gun-walking program that allowed straw buyers to purchase guns and place them in the hands of drug cartels across the Mexican border, while U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has been simultaneously frying on the hot seat of a congressional investigation into the matter.
The report was also released the day after Terry’s family issued a statement calling for criminal indictments to be pursued against those responsible for the gun-walking program that resulted in the murder of Terry and hundreds of others.
As Holder has done his best to stonewall the investigation into the Fast and Furious program by the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., has likened Holder’s behavior to President Nixon’s Attorney General John Mitchell, who was sentenced to 19 months in prison for his involvement in the Watergate scandal.
During proceedings earlier this month, Issa told Holder he was “standing in contempt of Congress” for his failure to deliver subpoenaed documents or cite a constitutional exemption.
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said he believes the DOJ chose to release its findings when it did simply “to take the attention away from themselves.”
He said, “I have little faith and trust in the U.S. Department of Justice after the actions, subsequent cover up and failure to accept responsibility regarding Operation Fast and Furious.”
The DOJ’s report claims the initial inquiry into civil rights violations by MCSO began in June 2008 and the DOJ notified Arpaio of its formal investigation in March 2009.
Holder’s office filed a lawsuit in September 2009 to “secure MCSO’s compliance with its legal obligations to provide information” pertinent to the DOJ’s investigation, despite the fact there had already been an ongoing inquiry for more than a year and a half and not a single charge was lodged against Arpaio or MCSO for civil rights violations.
However, six months prior to Holder initiating a formal investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had already conducted an investigation.
Not only did ICE not find any violations, it gave MCSO a glowing review, calling MCSO officers “professional and meeting the requirements of the MOA (Memorandum of Agreement).”
The ICE report described its working relationship between federal employees and MCSO as “excellent” and the cases brought to ICE by the sheriff’s office “high quality.”
Although Arizona passed Proposition 103 in 2006 by a vote of 74 percent to 26 percent, a constitutional amendment making English the official language of the state of Arizona, the DOJ’s report dedicates a section to “Discriminatory Language Access Jail Practices” claiming the use of the English language in Maricopa County Jails by correctional officers, supervisory staff and command staff “denies meaningful access to linguistic minorities.”
More specifically it claims MCSO’s implementation of English language practices have a discriminatory impact on Latinos, who it says “make up the vast majority of MCSO’s LEP (limited English proficient) inmates.”
The DOJ claims discrimination because forms are in English and Latino LEP inmates must “sign important forms written in English without the aid of appropriate language assistance.”
For example it claims some Latino LEP inmates are pressured by MCSO officials into signing English language voluntary return forms by “yelling at them, routinely failing to advise them of their rights and confining them in uncomfortably cold cells.”
Nowhere does it mention a voluntary return form is something only illegal aliens would be offered, not simply LEP Latinos, allowing them an alternative with far less severe consequences than a formal order of removal.
Meanwhile, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has revoked MCSO’s MOA, which means MCSO no longer has the means to identify illegal aliens booked into its jails and judges will most likely allow aliens accused of serious crimes to bond out and release them into our communities.
Only a week after the DOJ’s report was issued, U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow, a George W. Bush appointee, piled on to the Arpaio vendetta with his ruling in Melendres v. Arpaio, ruling any Hispanic stopped by MCSO deputies between Jan. 1, 2007 and now and on into the future, can sue the sheriff’s office in class-action lawsuit while enjoining MCSO from stopping people for being under suspicion of human smuggling law violations.
Snow stated, “[T]he court is not enjoining MCSO from enforcing valid state laws, or detaining individuals when officers have reasonable suspicion that individuals are violating a state criminal law. Instead, it is enjoining MCSO from violating federal rights protected by the United States Constitution in the process of enforcing valid state law based on an incorrect understanding of the law.
“A policy of detaining people pursuant to laws that MCSO has no authority to enforce, or detaining them without reasonable suspicion that they are violating laws it can enforce constitutes ‘continuing, present adverse effects’ and therefore merits injunctive relief.”
As the Obama administration continues playing out it’s vendetta against Arpaio for investigating President Obama’s fraudulent documents and constitutional eligibility, Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox amassed her pro-illegal immigration supporters to join her in press conference to rejoice in Snow’s ruling.
While Arpaio is being accused of racial profiling by the Latino community, Holder has decided white racism against himself and the president is responsible for Congress attempting to get to the bottom of who’s responsible for Fast and Furious, Brian Terry’s murder and Arpaio’s investigation into Obama’s spurious credentials.
However, race-baiting is not about to stop Arpaio or his Cold Case Posse from continuing its investigation into Obama’s fraudulent documents and questionable identity.
Arpaio said the Cold Case Posse, which has accumulated hundreds of pages of documentation as it continues to take testimony from a number of experts, will be releasing a preliminary report of its findings in February and stated those findings are expected to be “controversial.”
Contributions to support the all-volunteer Cold Case Posse may be sent to: MCSO Cold Case Posse, P.O. Box 74374, Phoenix, Arizona, 85087.
