Phoenix (AP). Twenty years ago, when its porous border with Mexico was frustrated in Arizona, the state adopted many immigration laws, as supporters regularly scared how local taxpayers stuck with education, health care and other costs in the US illegally.
Then Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpai was happy to take on this reason, starting 20 large -scale traffic patrols directed at immigrants since 2008. January Until 2011 October This was prompted by 2013. The judgment of the racial profiling and the expensive court order to repair the Agency’s Patrol Operations and its Home Affairs subsequently.
Eight years after the voting of Arpaio, Maricopa County taxpayers still pay legal and compliance accounts from coping. The tab is expected to reach $ 352 million. USD by 2026. Summer, including $ 34 million. USD approved by the County Board on Monday.
Although the agency has made progress on some fronts and has received favorable degrees of compliance in certain areas, it has not yet been considered to be fully in accordance with the court’s order.
After the profile verdict sheriff, the service was criticized for the different behavior of Spanish and black drivers with the investigation of their traffic stops. However, the latest study shows significant improvements. The agency was also shocked by the compressive retardation of internal affairs.
Thomas Galvinas, chairman of the county board, said the costs were “stunning” and promised to find a way to stop court supervision.
“I believe that at some point someone has to ask, can we just do it?” said Galvin. “Why do we have to do this next?”
Sheriff’s critics questioned why the county wanted to abandon the case now that taxpayers are finally starting to see the changes in the Sheriff’s office.
Verdict profiling
Almost 12 years ago, the Federal Judge concluded that ARPAI officials were racially profiled by Latin in their traffic patrols, directed at immigrants.
Patrols known as Sweeps have covered many deputy sheriffs in a few days flooding the Phoenix subway, including several Latin American neighborhoods to stop traffic offenders and seize other criminals.
The verdict prompted the judge to order the reorganization of traffic patrol operations, which included officers to retrain officers to establish constitutional stops, to establish a warning system aimed at detecting problematical behavior and deputies with body chambers.
Arpaio was later convicted of a criminal contempt for the court for the Judge’s 2011 ruling. The disobedience of the judge’s order to suspend the patrol. He was not spared by potential prison sentences in 2017. President Donald Trump has dismissed his misconduct.
Several traffic points investigations conducted after a profiling sentence have shown that deputies have often treated Spanish and black drivers differently from other drivers, although reports can no longer state that the Spaniards were still profiled.
The latest post, which includes stops in 2023, painted a more favorable picture, saying that there is no evidence of differences in stops or arrests and search Spanish drivers compared to white drivers. But when all racial minority drivers were grouped for analysis purposes, the study states that they encountered 19 seconds longer than white drivers stops.
Although the case was concentrated on traffic patrols, the judge later ordered the Sheriff’s Interior operation, which is said to have been biased by critics in decision -making by ARPAI and screened sheriff officers from accountability.
The Agency has encountered criticism over the years of home affairs, which Was about 2100 and last month was reduced to 939.
Taxpayers pick up an account
It is projected that by 2026 Summer 2026 Taxpayers will pay $ 289 million.
Galvin criticized the money spent on observation, and questioned whether they had made someone safer.
Raul Piña, a longtime community advisory board, designed to help improve confidence in the Sheriff’s Office, said court care should be continued as county taxpayers finally see improvements. Piña believes that Galvin’s criticism of court supervision is politically justified.
“They have written empty checks for many years, and now it makes sense to be very expensive?” said piña.
The end of court care
Christine Wee, a lawyer at the American Union of Civic Freedoms representing the plaintiffs, said the Sheriff’s Office is not ready to be released from court supervision.
WeE said the plaintiffs have questions about the Traffic-Stop data and believe that the retardation of the interior must be cleaned and the quality of the research should be high. “The question of getting out of court is too early,” we said.
Current sheriff Jerry Sheridan said he sees herself asking the court during her term of office to terminate the Sheriff’s supervision. “I would like to fully satisfy the court orders in the next two years,” Sheridan said.
However, court care would not necessarily stop all costs, the Sheriff’s service said in court records.
Her lawyers said the expenses are “most likely to continue to be necessary, even after judicial supervision to support implemented reforms.”