Trump "seriously considering" a pardon of ex-sheriff Joe Arpaio

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

1 hour ago, Bugs said:

I see you did not read the whole thing.

I know what he did and why he did it. Do I think he went a little to far? Yes I do believe that. But at the time he was the only one trying to uphold the laws while the Fed's were like who cares allow everybody in.

[IAMX 3,055]

3 minutes ago, cyberfx1024 said:

I know what he did and why he did it. Do I think he went a little to far? Yes I do believe that. But at the time he was the only one trying to uphold the laws while the Fed's were like who cares allow everybody in.

Yes.

 

Sufficed to say, hope he's pardoned, even though it's unlikely he'd see jail time anyways. 

[CaliCat 3,957]

1 minute ago, cyberfx1024 said:

I know what he did and why he did it. Do I think he went a little to far? Yes I do believe that. But at the time he was the only one trying to uphold the laws while the Fed's were like who cares allow everybody in.

 

Except that such policy has really never existed. Obama beefed up security along the border, and when even sent Jen Brewer additional agents to police the Arizona border. At one point the MDR/MORs were clamoring that Obama had deported more people than ever.

 

Arpaio tried a populist maneuver. He had designs of becoming a big fish in the Arizona political landscape and his plan backfired.

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

14 minutes ago, CaliCat said:

 

Except that such policy has really never existed. Obama beefed up security along the border, and when even sent Jen Brewer additional agents to police the Arizona border. At one point the MDR/MORs were clamoring that Obama had deported more people than ever.

 

Arpaio tried a populist maneuver. He had designs of becoming a big fish in the Arizona political landscape and his plan backfired.

But if he is pardoned what then? 

 

If you actually look at the numbers that Obama "deported" they are beefed up numbers and not factual. They were counting people that they stopped within 50 miles of the border and turned back, not the actual illegals that live farther away. 

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

19 minutes ago, CaliCat said:

 

Except that such policy has really never existed. Obama beefed up security along the border, and when even sent Jen Brewer additional agents to police the Arizona border. At one point the MDR/MORs were clamoring that Obama had deported more people than ever.

 

Arpaio tried a populist maneuver. He had designs of becoming a big fish in the Arizona political landscape and his plan backfired.

Sorry I was playing Devil's Advocate like what if he is pardoned could he then run for office in Arizona again? 

[CaliCat 3,957]

Just now, cyberfx1024 said:

But if he is pardoned what then? 

 

If you actually look at the numbers that Obama "deported" they are beefed up numbers and not factual. They were counting people that they stopped within 50 miles of the border and turned back, not the actual illegals that live farther away. 

 

If he's pardoned, then it will send out a message to others in law enforcement that they act in the same manner before the law, and wait for a pardon.

 

The numbers were not beefed up. The job of border patrol is to keep the borders safe, which they did. A deportee is a deportee, no matter if caught 50 or 500 miles from the border.

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

5 minutes ago, CaliCat said:

 

If he's pardoned, then it will send out a message to others in law enforcement that they act in the same manner before the law, and wait for a pardon.

 

The numbers were not beefed up. The job of border patrol is to keep the borders safe, which they did. A deportee is a deportee, no matter if caught 50 or 500 miles from the border.

 

 Immigration activists have sharply criticized President Obama for a rising volume of deportations, labeling him the "deporter in chief" and staging large protests that have harmed his standing with some Latinos, a key group of voters for Democrats.

But the portrait of a steadily increasing number of deportations rests on statistics that conceal almost as much as they disclose. A closer examination shows that immigrants living illegally in most of the continental U.S. are less likely to be deported today than before Obama came to office, according to immigration data.

 

 

http://www.snopes.com/obama-deported-more-people/

 

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-obama-deportations-20140402-story.html

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

1 hour ago, CaliCat said:

 

If he's pardoned, then it will send out a message to others in law enforcement that they act in the same manner before the law, and wait for a pardon.

 

The numbers were not beefed up. The job of border patrol is to keep the borders safe, which they did. A deportee is a deportee, no matter if caught 50 or 500 miles from the border.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

On 8/14/2017 at 3:00 PM, cyberfx1024 said:

I know what he did and why he did it. Do I think he went a little to far? Yes I do believe that. But at the time he was the only one trying to uphold the laws while the Fed's were like who cares allow everybody in.

 

1 hour ago, IDWAF said:

 

Something.....

Arpaio was first elected as sheriff in 1992. He was re-elected in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012.^[26] Throughout his tenure as sheriff, Arpaio sought out media coverage. He was featured and profiled by worldwide news media and claimed to average 200 television appearances per month.^[27] In late 2008 and early 2009, Arpaio appeared in Smile...You're Under Arrest!, a three-episode Fox Reality Channel series in which persons with outstanding warrants were tricked into presenting themselves for arrest.^[28]

Jail conditions

Arpaio's jail detention practices included serving inmates edibles recovered from food rescue^[29] and limiting meals to twice daily.^[30] He also banned inmates from possessing "sexually explicit material" including Playboy magazine, after female officers complained that inmates openly masturbated while viewing the articles. The ban was challenged on First Amendment grounds, but was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.^[31] In February 2007, Arpaio instituted an in-house radio station he called KJOE,^[32] broadcasting classical music, opera, Frank Sinatra hits, patriotic music, and educational programming five days a week, four hours each day.

Federal Judge Neil V. Wake ruled in 2008 and 2010 that the Maricopa County jails violated the constitutional rights of inmates in medical and other care-related issues.^[33][34]

In 2013, National Geographic Channel featured Arpaio's jail in the Banged Up Abroad episode of "Raving Arizona".^[35] The episode told the story of the Ecstasy dealer Shaun Attwood who started the blog Jon's Jail Journal.^[36][37][38]

Arpaio set up a "Tent City" in 1993 as an extension of the Maricopa County Jail for convicted and sentenced prisoners.^[39][40] Arpaio described Tent City as a concentration camp.^[41][42] Tent City was located in a yard next to a more permanent structure.^[43] On July 2, 2011, when the temperature in Phoenix hit 118 °F (48 °C), Arpaio measured the temperature inside Tent City tents at 145 °F (63 °C). Some inmates complained that fans near their beds were not working, and that their shoes were melting from the heat.^[44] During the summer of 2003, when outside temperatures exceeded 110 °F (43 °C), Arpaio said to complaining inmates, "It's 120 degrees in Iraq and the soldiers are living in tents and they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your mouths!"^[45]

Tent city jail

In 1997, Amnesty International said Arpaio's tent city jail was not an "adequate or humane alternative to housing inmates in suitable ... jail facilities."^[46] Tent City was criticized by groups contending that there were violations of human and constitutional rights.^[47] Arpaio stated he reserved the punishment of living in Tent City "for those who have been convicted."^[48][49] In April 2017, it was announced by newly elected Sheriff Paul Penzone that the jail would be shut down.^[50]

In 1995, Arpaio reinstituted chain gangs. In 1996, he expanded the chain gang concept by instituting female volunteer chain gangs.^[51] Female inmates worked seven hours a day (7 a.m. to 2 p.m.), six days a week. He also instituted the world's first all-juvenile volunteer chain gang; volunteers earned high school credit toward a diploma.^[52] One of Arpaio's public relations actions was the requirement that inmates wear pink underwear in order to prevent its theft by the released inmates. He claimed this saved the county $70,000 in the first year the rule was in effect.^[53] Arpaio subsequently started to sell customized pink boxers (with the Maricopa County Sheriff's logo and "Go Joe") as a fund-raiser for Sheriff's Posse Association. Despite allegations of misuse of funds received from these sales, Arpaio declined to provide an accounting for the money.^[54]

Arpaio's success in gaining press coverage with the pink underwear resulted in his extending the use of the color. He introduced pink handcuffs, using the event to promote his book, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, America's Toughest Sheriff.^[55] Arpaio has said "I can get elected on pink underwear... I've done it five times."^[56][57] In 2004, Arpaio ordered all undocumented immigrants currently in jail to register for the Selective Service System.^[58]

In November 2010, Arpaio created an armed illegal immigration operations posse to help his deputies enforce immigration law. Members of the posse included actors Steven Seagal, Lou Ferrigno, and Peter Lupus.^[59] Because the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) lost its authority to enforce immigration law (both by losing its 287(g) authority and through the Federal court's order in Melendrez v. Arpaio), the posse is no longer active.^[60] While the MCSO website claimed 3,000 posse members, as of July 29, 2015, the posse had 986 members.^[61]

Arpaio was a controversial sheriff. His practices were criticized by government agencies such as the United States Department of Justice; United States District Courts; and organizations such as Amnesty International,^[62] the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU); the Arizona Ecumenical Council; the American Jewish Committee; ^[63] and the Arizona chapter of the Anti-Defamation League.^[64] The editorial board of The New York Times called Arpaio "America's Worst Sheriff".^[65] Controversies surrounding Arpaio included allegations of racial profiling, for which the ACLU sued the sheriff.^[66][67]

Claims that sheriff's office failed to properly investigate serious crimes

In 2000 it was claimed that the sheriff's office failed to properly investigate serious crimes, including the rape of a 14-year-old girl by classmates,^[68][69] and the rape of a 15-year-old girl by two strangers.^[70][71] These cases were reported as "exceptionally cleared" (solved) by the MCSO without investigation or, in one instance, without even identifying a suspect – in contravention of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) standards for exceptional clearance.^[70][72] In the case of the 15-year-old girl, the case was closed within one month and before DNA testing was even complete, a 13-year-old's because her mother did not want to "pursue this investigation," and the 14-year-old's because a suspect declined to appear for questioning.^[68][70] In a statement to ABC15, the sheriff's office claimed "The Goldwater Institute’s report cites the FBI’s Uniform Code [sic] Reporting handbook, which is a voluntary crime-reporting program to compile statistical information and reports. The UCR is not intended for oversight on how law enforcement agencies clear cases... The Sheriff’s Office has its own criteria for clearing cases."^[69] The Arizona Department of Public Safety, which serves as the repository for Arizona case clearance statistics, told 12 News that the guidelines in the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook are mandatory for all Arizona law enforcement agencies. Those guidelines specify that a case can be cleared by exception only when a perpetrator's identity and location is known and there is sufficient evidence to support prosecution, but, due to special circumstances (such as the suspect dying, or extradition not being possible), an arrest cannot be made.^[73]

In an interview on the ABC's Nightline news program, when asked to explain why 82 percent of cases were declared cleared by exception, Arpaio said, "We do clear a higher percentage of that. I know that. We clear many, many cases – not 18 percent." Nightlinecontacted the MCSO after the interview and was told that of 7,346 crimes, only 944, or 15%, had been cleared by arrest.^[74]

Under Arpaio, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office may have improperly cleared (reported as solved) as many as 75% of cases without arrest or proper investigation.^{[73][75][76][77][78]}

Sex crime investigations

During a three-year period ending in 2007, more than 400 sex crimes reported to Arpaio's office were inadequately investigated or not investigated at all. While providing police services for El Mirage, Arizona, the MCSO under Arpaio failed to follow through on at least 32 reported child molestations, even though the suspects were known in all but six cases. Many of the victims were children of illegal immigrants.^[70][79]

 

Arpaio in 2011

In a controversial case, Arpaio's office was accused of ignoring Sabrina Morrison, a teenage girl suffering from a mental disability. On March 7, 2007, the 13-year-old was raped by her uncle, Patrick Morrison. She told her teacher the next day, and her teacher called the MCSO. A rape kit was taken, but the detective assigned to the case told Sabrina and her family that there were no obvious signs of sexual assault, no semen, or signs of trauma.^[80]

As a result of the detective's statements, Sabrina was branded by her family as a liar. Her uncle continued to rape her repeatedly, saying he would kill her if she told anyone. She became pregnant by him, and had an abortion. The family did not know that the rape kit had been tested at the state lab and showed the presence of semen. The lab requested that the detective obtain a blood sample from the suspect, Patrick Morrison.^[81] Instead of obtaining the blood sample, or making an arrest, the detective filed the crime-lab note and closed the case for four years.^[81]

In September 2011 the sheriff's office obtained a blood sample from Patrick Morrison, which was a DNA match with the semen taken over four years earlier. Patrick Morrison was arrested and charged in February 2012; he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 24 years in prison.^[81]

In December 2011, responding to continuing media coverage of the controversy, and apparently unaware that there were hundreds of victims in these cases, Arpaio stated in a press conference, "If there were any victims, I apologize to those victims."^[82]

In August 2012, Sabrina Morrison filed a notice of claim against Arpaio and Maricopa County for gross negligence. In April 2015, the case settled for $3.5 million.^[83][84]

An internal memo written by one of the detectives assigned to the Morrison case blamed a high case load, saying the special victims unit had gone from five detectives to just three, and the detectives left were often called off their cases to investigate special assignments. These included a credit card fraud case involving the Arizona Diamondbacks and a mortgage fraud case in Arpaio's home city of Fountain Hills.^[85]

When county supervisors provided more than $600,000 to fund six additional detective positions to investigate child abuse in fiscal 2007, none were added to the sex-crimes squad. Sheriff’s administrators concluded they had no idea where positions were added or what became of the money after it was added to the budget.^[86]

Targeting of political opponents

Between 2008 and 2010, Arpaio and former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas together undertook a number of government-corruption investigations targeting political opponents, including judges, county supervisors and administrators, resulting in filing of criminal charges against several individuals, lawsuits against the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, and a federal civil-racketeering suit against the supervisors, four judges, and attorneys who worked with the county.^[87]

In early 2010, Arpaio and Thomas sought to have a grand jury indict a number of Maricopa County judges, Maricopa County supervisors, and employees of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. The grand jury, in an unusual rebuke, ordered the investigation ended. This action has been described as meaning that "the case is so bad, there's no further evidence that could be brought" to substantiate it. Legal experts agreed this was a rare move.^[88]

Arpaio and Thomas lost every case, either by ruling of the courts or by dropping the case.^[89]

Arpaio's and Thomas' actions in these matters led to Thomas' disbarment by a disciplinary panel of the Arizona Supreme Court, which found that Thomas "outrageously exploited power, flagrantly fostered fear, and disgracefully misused the law" while serving as Maricopa County Attorney. The panel found "clear and convincing evidence" that Thomas brought unfounded and malicious criminal and civil charges against political opponents, including four state judges and the Arizona Attorney General.^[90] "Were this a criminal case," the panel concluded, "we are confident that the evidence would establish this conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt."^[91][92]

At least 11 individuals filed lawsuits or legal claims as a result of being targeted by Arpaio and Thomas. The county settled all 11 cases:^[87][93]

• Gary Donahoe, retired Superior Court judge: $1,275,000 settlement. County legal expenses: $767,127.
• Kenneth Fields, retired Superior Court judge: $100,000 settlement. County legal expenses: $81,040.
• Barbara Mundell, retired Superior Court judge: $500,000 settlement. County legal expenses: $134,273.
• Anna Baca, retired Superior Court judge: $100,000 settlement. County legal expenses: $112,588.
• Stephen Wetzel, former county technology director: $75,000 settlement. County legal expenses: $107,647.
• Sandi Wilson, deputy county manager and county budget director: $122,000 settlement. County legal expenses: $458,318.
• Don Stapley, former county supervisor: $3.5 million settlement. County legal expenses: $1,682,020.
• Mary Rose Wilcox, county supervisor: $975,000 settlement, plus $9,938 in court-ordered legal costs. County legal expenses to date: over $375,442.
• Susan Schuerman, Stapley’s executive assistant: $500,000 settlement. County legal expenses: $200,201.
• Conley Wolfswinkel, Stapley’s business associate: $1,400,000 settlement. County legal expenses: $1,586,152.
• Andy Kunasek, county supervisor: $123,110 settlement. County legal expenses: $1,150.

As of June 2014, costs to Maricopa County taxpayers related to Arpaio's and Thomas's failed corruption investigations exceeded $44 million, not including staff time.^[93][94]

In February 2010, Pima County Superior Court Judge John S. Leonardo found that Arpaio "misused the power of his office to target members of the Board of Supervisors for criminal investigation".^[95]

In 2008, a federal grand jury began an inquiry of Arpaio for abuse of power in connection with an FBI investigation.^[96][97] On August 31, 2012, the Arizona U.S. Attorney's office announced that it was "closing its investigation into allegations of criminal conduct" by Arpaio, without filing charges.^[98]

Arpaio was investigated for politically motivated and "bogus" prosecutions, which a former U.S. Attorney called "utterly unacceptable".^[96][97] Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon called Arpaio's "long list" of questionable prosecutions "a reign of terror".^[97]

The targets of Arpaio's alleged abuse of power included:

• Phil Gordon, Phoenix Mayor^[96]
• Dan Saban, Arpaio's 2004 and 2008 opponent for the office of Sheriff of Maricopa County^[96]
• Terry Goddard, Arizona Attorney General^[96]
• David Smith, Maricopa County Manager^[96]
• The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors^[96]
• Barbara Mundell, Maricopa Superior Court Presiding Judge^[96]
• Anna Baca, former Maricopa Superior Court Presiding Judge^[99]
• Gary Donahoe, Maricopa Superior Court Criminal Presiding Judge^[96]
• Daniel Pochoda, ACLU attorney^[96]
• Sandra Dowling, former Maricopa County School Superintendent^[97]
• Mike Lacey, Editor, Phoenix New Times^[97]

As of July 2010, only Sandra Dowling had been successfully prosecuted.^[97] Indicted on 25 felony counts, Dowling eventually pleaded guilty to patronage for giving a summer job to her daughter, a single class-2 misdemeanor which was not among the original counts, although as part of the plea bargain she also agreed to recuse herself from the Maricopa County Regional School District. Dowling later filed suit, alleging negligence, malicious prosecution, abuse of process and several constitutional violations, although Arpaio won summary judgment against her claims.^[100]

Mike Lacey and Jim Larkin, the founders and leaders of the Phoenix New Times, were arrested after publishing a news article on a grand jury investigation involving Arpaio's office. On the evening that the article was published, Lacey and Larkin were arrested by plainclothes sheriff's deputies, "handcuffed, put in dark SUVs with tinted windows and driven to jail."^[101] Following a public uproar over the arrests, all charges were dropped against Lacey and Larkin.^[101] Lacey and Larkin filed a federal Section 1983 lawsuit for the violations of their civil rights, and in 2012 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that they could sue the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office for the arrests.^[102] In 2013, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted to settle the suit for $3.75 million. Lacey and Larkin used the proceeds of the settlement to establish an endowed chair professorship at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.^[101]

Election law violation

In July 2010, a committee established by Arpaio (the "Campaign to Re-Elect Joe Arpaio 2012") funded advertisements critical of Rick Romley, a candidate in the Republican primary for Maricopa County Attorney, and Arizona Attorney General candidate Tom Horne, despite the fact that Arpaio was not running for re-election at the time (his term did not expire until the end of 2012).^[103]

In August 2010, following the filing of complaints to the Maricopa Elections Department, the Office of Maricopa County Attorney found that one of the advertisements, a direct mailer, advocated the defeat of Romley and was an in-kind contribution to Bill Montgomery (Romley's primary election opponent), in violation of Arizona election law. The order stated that a civil penalty in the amount of three times the amount of money spent on the mailer would be imposed on Campaign to Re-Elect Joe Arpaio 2012.^[104] In September 2010, Arpaio's campaign was fined $153,978.^[105] Montgomery ultimately defeated Romley in the primary election, with Romley stating Arpaio's ads "hurt" his results.^[106]

Misspending analysis

An analysis by the Maricopa County Office of Management and Budget, completed in April 2011, found that Arpaio had misspent almost $100 million over the previous 5 years.^{[107][108][109]}

The analysis showed that money from a restricted detention fund which could legally be used only to pay for jail items, such as food, detention officers' salaries, and equipment, was used to pay employees to patrol Maricopa County.^[107] The analysis also showed that many sheriff's office employees, whose salaries were paid from the restricted detention fund, were working job assignments different from those recorded in their personnel records. Arpaio's office kept a separate set of personnel books detailing actual work assignments, different from information kept in the county's official human resources records.^[108]

Arpaio used the detention fund to pay for investigations of political rivals, as well as activities involving his human-smuggling unit.^[107][108]

The analysis also showed a number of inappropriate spending items including a trip to Alaska where deputies stayed at a fishing resort, and trips to Disneyland.^[108][110]

Separate investigations by The Arizona Republic uncovered widespread abuse of public funds and county policies by Arpaio's office, including high-ranking employees routinely charging expensive meals and stays at luxury hotels on their county credit cards.^[111]

The Republic also found that a restricted jail-enhancement fund was improperly used to pay for out-of-state training, a staff party at a local amusement park, and a $456,000 bus which Arpaio purchased in violation of county procurement rules.^[107][112]

Misconduct and mismanagement memo

In September 2010, a 63-page internal memo written by Maricopa Deputy Chief Frank Munnell, was made public. The memo alleged years of misconduct and mismanagement by Arpaio's second-in-command and other top MCSO officers, including the use of a public-corruption task force to conduct politically motivated probes into political opponents. The memo alleged that top officials in the MCSO "willfully and intentionally committed criminal acts by attempting to obstruct justice, tamper with witnesses, and destroy evidence."^[113]Arpaio forwarded the memo to the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, requesting they conduct an administrative investigation. Former top MCSO staffers claimed that Arpaio knew of the acts alleged in the Munnell memo, but took no action to stop them.^[114] Arpaio has not commented publicly on the allegations.

In October 2010, the U.S. Attorney for Arizona confirmed that the FBI and Department of Justice had received copies of the Munnell memo and were conducting criminal investigations into its allegations.^[115]

 

Arpaio with State Senator Russell Pearce in 2010

Wrongful arrest and entrapment lawsuit and settlement

In 1999, undercover MCSO deputies arrested James Saville, then 18 years old, and charged him with plotting to kill Arpaio with a pipe bomb. A local television station had been tipped off to the arrest by the MCSO, and broadcast footage of the arrest that evening. The MCSO held a news conference shortly after the arrest, and Arpaio appeared in interviews on local television stations, saying "If they think they are going to scare me away with bombs and everything else, it's not going to bother me."^[116]

In July 2003, after spending almost four years in jail awaiting trial, Saville was acquitted by a Maricopa County Superior Court jury. Jurors were persuaded that Saville had been entrapped by the MCSO as part of an publicity stunt by Arpaio.^[117][118] This was a rare example of a successful entrapment defense, which is very difficult to prove.^[119] Jurors interviewed following the trial said that "they were convinced that Saville had been a pawn in an elaborate media ploy."^[119] The jury forewoman subsequently said: "This was a publicity stunt at the expense of four years of someone's life." Another juror stated that "This was a big setup from the beginning."^[117]

In 2004, Saville, following the acquittal, sued Arpaio and Maricopa County for wrongful arrest and entrapment. In 2008, the suit was settled, with Maricopa County paying Saville $1.1 million. Saville also received an unspecified additional compensation from the county's insurance company.^[120]

Abuse of power investigation

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (August 2017)

As of December 2011, a federal grand jury was investigating Arpaio's office on criminal abuse-of-power allegations since at least December 2009 and was specifically examining the investigative work of the sheriff's anti-public corruption squad.^[121]

On August 31, 2012, federal authorities announced they were terminating their abuse-of-power investigation into Arpaio in Arizona without filing charges against him.^[122]

Immigration patrols

In 2005, Arpaio began focusing on enforcing immigration laws, after Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas was elected with a campaign slogan of "Stop illegal immigration."^[123] Arpaio stated that prior to 2005, he didn't view illegal immigration as a "serious legal issue."^[124]

Starting in 2005, Arpaio regularly conducted saturation patrols and immigration sweeps, targeting Latino neighborhoods^[125][126] and day laborers.^[127] Arpaio also ran many operations targeting businesses employing Latinos, and arresting employees who were unauthorized immigrants for identity theft. According to Arpaio, 100% of the persons arrested for using stolen IDs in 57 raids conducted up until March 2012 were in the country illegally.^[128] Until 2011, when a Federal District Court injunction halted the practice, Arpaio maintained an immigrant smuggling squad which illegally stopped cars with Latino drivers or passengers to check their immigration status.^[129][130]

Arpaio has said of his immigration law enforcement efforts, "Ours is an operation where we want to go after illegals, not the crime first... It's a pure program. You go after them, and you lock them up."^[131]

 

 

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

TL;DR

 

However, I find it amusing (at best) that someone would defend the pardon of known criminals, yet balk at giving a public servant a bye after years of service to the public.  To each their own, I reckon.

Edited September 1, 2017 by IDWAF

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

13 minutes ago, IDWAF said:

TL;DR

 

violated civil rights of citizens and noncitizens, lied to the court, racially profiled residents, chained a pregnant woman to a bed, used county funds to destroy political opponents and journalists, cost the taxpayers of Maricopa 44 million in legal and settlements, misspent 100 million of taxpayers funds, botched and ignored rape victim cases

 

Quote

 

However, I find it amusing (at best) that someone would defend the pardon of known criminals, yet balk at giving a public servant a bye after years of service to the public.  To each their own, I reckon.

I don't know who is defending known criminals, Pardons are on a case by case basis and up the the Gov /Pres.  Maybe Clemency is more in order...at any rate until he confesses his guilt in court he cannot accept the pardon and he is sure he is not a criminal.

Edited September 1, 2017 by Il Mango Dulce

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

So you're good with the release of the 5 Gitmo terrorists and over 1,100 criminals that Obama released in his time, but have a problem with Arpaio?

[smilesammich 10,727]

11 hours ago, IDWAF said:

So you're good with the release of the 5 Gitmo terrorists and over 1,100 criminals that Obama released in his time, but have a problem with Arpaio?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_pardoned_or_granted_clemency_by_the_President_of_the_United_States

 

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

11 hours ago, IDWAF said:

So you're good with the release of the 5 Gitmo terrorists and over 1,100 criminals that Obama released in his time, but have a problem with Arpaio?

Too short, no context.