You get Maricopa County.
As a compensation supervisor, Darrien Ellison spends a lot of time researching money requests from the Sheriff’s Office.
In the course of his normal work over the past year, he denied two pay-raise requests for a high-ranking Sheriff’s Office employee. Later, the thought crossed his mind several times that authorities might come after him. When he had to call sheriff’s staff, he assumed he was being recorded. “Who knows what they would use from a conversation on one of their employees against me,” he said.
…
Fear followed employees home. Many talked with their wives, husbands and children to warn them deputies might show up or follow them around town.
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Compensation supervisor Darrien Ellison and his family were away visiting in-laws last summer on the day deputies came to his house to question him.
When he didn’t come to the door, deputies talked to his neighbor. They asked about Ellison and his job at the county. Later, Ellison felt like some kind of suspicion had been cast on his family.
“Your neighbors obviously probably think something has been done wrong,” he said, asking how does anyone explain that it’s “just politics.”
OK, I’m confused. On one side you have you have investigators who are trying to contact people at home, not their work place. (Standard procedure when what you are investigating is “at work”.) Who when they can’t contact those people leave their business card on the screen/storm door or under a windshield wiper. And then they have the audacity to ask your neighbors about you and your job. When these same investigators are accused of abuse, as best as I can determine, they then let the FBI have access to anything the FBI wants access to.
In the other corner, you have some Superior Court Judges and highly placed county officials who have been so “cooperative” about an investigation into misdeeds in a $135 million project that a RICO Statue Complaint has been filed by the very people that if they were being abusive would not want the attention of the very people that the complaint would bring in.
http://www.mcaodocuments.com/press/20091201_a.pdf
While Sheriff Joe may not be the most PC person who ever drew breath, nobody has ever accused him of rank stupidity
Seems Sheriff Joe doesn’t seem to care about attracting the attention of the Feds, especially when the county DA seems to be happy to justify and support everything the Sheriff does.
When the rank and file county workers, not just the head honchos, are nervous and scared of the Sheriffs office, you have a problem. Even if the deputies are just following up on a legitimate investigation, the Sheriff has created such a hostile and distrustful atmosphere in the county that people are afraid of his office.
What is sad is that the voters of Maricopa County seem OK with this.
Radley Balko has lots of links and commentary on how out of control the Sheriff and the county DA are. Run a search on his site for “Maricopa” or “Arpaio” to get it all.
As a Maricopa County Resident I can tell you that Sheriff Joe will be Sheriff until the day he dies. He wins because he does the job that the Fed’s refuse to do, i.e, immigration enforcement. Things like the above story have been going on for years, and are no longer news worthy items in Arizona.
Not living in Az, I guess I can’t know the truth of these stories…. But I would bet large sums the a-holes getting harassed are not the good guys here. ESPECIALLY since we learn of it through the MSM. Sheriff Joe doesn’t suffer idiots well at all. Wish I could live in Maricopa Co.
Sheriff Joe will be Sheriff until the day he dies
or until the Feds decide he’s stepped on too many Constitutional Rights and abused the system too much to tolerate anymore and bring him up on Federal Charges. I guess we’ll see one way or another. Hardass law enforcement is always popular, right up until you find yourself on the wrong end of the gun.
JebTexas –
Sure, they could all be bad guys whining to the media about harassment, or they could be collateral damage in a political pissing match between the branches of government in Maricopa County. One of those scenarios is a bit easier to buy.
“or until the Feds decide he’s stepped on too many Constitutional Rights and abused the system too much to tolerate anymore and bring him up on Federal Charges.”
I’d believe that… if he hasn’t been telling the Fed’s to go get F’ed for YEARS now. Remember, the new Homeland Security Director, the person in charge of securing the borders, is our former Governor. He used to back her down and slap her around in the media for fun.
The Fed’s also ended the program where they would train local law enforcement in immigration rules/procedures so the locals could legally do immigration enforcement (the Fed’s job). They told him to cease and desist arresting illegals immediately… he’s done three or four illegal immigration sweeps since. And he announces them on the news. Like I said, they’ll have to drag his body out of the Sheriff’s office.
Like I said, they’ll have to drag his body out of the Sheriff’s office.
Quite possibly.