thewayne: (Default)
The guy who ousted Joe, by 18 points, is former Phoenix Police officer Paul Penzone. One of the early things that he did after assuming office was order an audit of all Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) firearms after a stolen MCSO pistol was involved in a shootout. More than 50 were lost or stolen.

Another early biggie, of course, was closing Tent City, the infamous outdoor jail where inmates were held in tents where temperatures inside the tents could climb to 145f! Arpaio once installed web cams inside the tents so every sadistic voter could enjoy the suffering - including one in the women's bathrooms. Those were taken down.

Penzone also ordered an audit of Joe's "Posse". Arpaio instituted a bunch of unqualified yahoos (armed civilians) to wear uniforms to "help his deputies" do whatever they allegedly did. I remember one was clocked doing 145 MPH down the Superstition Freeway "blowing the carbon out of the carburetor". The audit found that only four people of the 234 members had completed all six stages of qualification. Later an additional twenty completed their qualification.

What I remember Joe for, aside from his constant bloviations - which oddly remind me of someone today, I just can't put my finger on it right now - was his constant grandstanding. You see, he was the sheriff of Maricopa County. He has two specific jobs for which he was elected. First, provide jail services for Maricopa County. This involves housing people who await trial, i.e. cannot afford bail or are convicted of lesser crimes not worthy of prison. Second, providing law enforcement for unincorporated towns in Maricopa County.

To the first bit, let's say you get arrested for falling behind in child support. It happened to a friend of mine. So because you're in a financial bind you're going to be thrown into a tent in 120 degree temperatures. Cruel and unusual punishment much? As if jail is Easy Street to start with! And this is before your court date - you're just being held because you couldn't make bail! You haven't been convicted of anything yet.

As to the second bit, Joe spent his time sending his people conducting prostitution stings in seedy parts of Phoenix - surprisingly there were Phoenix TV crews available for them. Meanwhile, the violent crime rate in unincorporated areas of Maricopa County, just 10 minutes outside the metropolitan Phoenix area (which is bloody huge! 5th largest city in the USA) soared because the deputies weren't patrolling it!

I had zero respect for the bastard.

The bastard has four challengers in the primary field: two Republican and two Democrats. One, a Republican named Sheridan, served under him and is under investigation and may lose his credentials to be a law enforcement officer! From the article linked in my previous post:

"Sheridan was with MCSO for 38 years and was Arpaio's top aide when Arpaio was convicted of federal criminal contempt of court in connection with a long-running racial profiling lawsuit. President Donald Trump later pardoned Arpaio.

Investigators stated in a report released earlier this year they would have recommended Sheridan be fired if he hadn't already retired after Arpaio lost his 2016 re-election campaign.

The Arizona Post Officer Standards and Training Board has yet to vote on whether Sheridan should face disciplinary proceedings, which could end with a suspension or Sheridan losing his law enforcement certification."


So quite the winner, Sheridan!
thewayne: (Default)
I guess since Tent City is now national policy, he thinks he stands a chance?

Yep, former sheriff Joe Arpaio, at age 8792, wants to run for Sheriff again. He's got - currently! - four opponents in the primary. And the democrat who kicked him out of office in '16 is running again.

He was called Dime-Bag Joe when he was in the DEA, a time that he brags about, because he went around making lots of small busts, while the others in his unit were conducting deep investigations wrapping up entire networks. He was not well-respected. But in doing so, his record showed a lot of arrests.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2019/08/26/joe-arpaio-maricopa-county-sheriff-election-paul-penzone-jerry-sheridan/2121492001/

EDIT:Arpaio is 87. He'll be 88 if elected, and 92 at the end of his 4-year term. I don't know where I got the number that he's currently 92.

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