FBI Investigating Sheriff Arpaio

We've discussed before on this blog about how Arizona's Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio plays fast and loose with the legal system, by abusing prisoners and using racial stereotyping against Hispanics to wage a one-man war on immigrants. He is even being investigated by the Justice Department regarding these matters.

Now it looks like that was just the surface elements of his illegal behavior. According to KPHO Channel 5 news in Phoenix, Sheriff Arpiao may have used his office (and his deputies) to get back at political opponents and others he doesn't like. This is a clear abuse of power of his elected office, and is now being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Arpaio has sent his deputies to Maricopa County Board meetings, where they have arrested members of the public merely for applauding the speeches of Arpaio opponents. It seems to be an obvious and rather heavy-handed attempt to have a chilling effect on free speech.

But the sheriff didn't stop there. Political opponents and critics of the sheriff have received visits from the sheriff's deputies. The deputies have never found any evidence of laws being broken, but that is not the purpose of the visits. The visits are simply to remind these people of the power wielded by a sitting sheriff. Her is a list of some of the people he has tried to intimidate in this way:

-- Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, who sicced the Justice Department on Arpaio for his racial-profiling practices.

-- Mesa Police Chief

-- Dan Saban, who ran against the sheriff in 2004 and 2008

-- Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard

-- Maricopa County Manager David Smith

-- The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors

-- Superior Court Presiding Judge Barbara Mundell

-- ACLU attorney Daniel Pochoda

Of course, this kind of abuse of power is illegal, and that is why the FBI is investigating. Hopefully, he has overstepped his bounds enough that the FBI will be able to gather enough evidence to arrest and try him and remove him from office.

He has been an embarrassment to honest and decent lawmen everywhere for far too long.