Yes, it’s so Sheriff Joe.
The Justice Department on Thursday filed a civil lawsuit in fed court against the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Joseph M. Arpaio, alleging a pattern of unconstitutional conduct that included discriminating Latino motorists and inmates.
The lawsuit alleges that the department frequently stopped Latinos motorist who were detained and arrested on the basis of their ethnicity.
It also alleged discriminatory jail practices against Latino inmates with limited English skills; and accused the sheriff’s department of illegal retaliation against their perceived critics, subjecting them to baseless criminal actions, unfounded civil lawsuits, or meritless administrative actions.
“At its core, this is an abuse of power case involving Sheriff Arpaio and a sheriff’s office that disregarded the Constitution, ignored sound police practices, and did not hesitate to retaliate against perceived critics in a variety of unlawful ways,” Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, said in a statement. “Constitutional policing and effective policing go hand in hand. The complaint outlines how Sheriff Arpaio’s actions were neither constitutional nor effective. No one in Maricopa County is above the law and the department will fight to ensure that the promise of the Constitution is realized by everyone in Maricopa County.”
