Thread: Arpaio entertains crowd at Williams' breakfast

Arpaio entertains crowd at Williams' breakfast
20 commentsby Betty Reid - Apr. 28, 2009 11:05 AM
The Arizona Republic

About 35 north Phoenix residents got more than the usual monthly breakfast hosted by their councilwoman.

They got a show when Councilwoman Thelda Williams recently hosted Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

The sheriff had the crowd laughing and applauding during the roughly 70-minute breakfast where he poked fun and lashed out at his critics who believe he uses racial profiling when his deputies carry out crime sweeps around the Valley.

Arpaio blamed Mayor Phil Gordon for the pending Justice Department investigation over his practices.

Officials from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division notified Arpaio on March 10 that they had begun a civil-rights investigation, which will focus on whether deputies are engaging in "patterns or practices of discriminatory police practices and unconstitutional searches and seizures." Arpaio told those gathered for the breakfast Friday that he is getting "heat" from Congress and local politicians.

"I'm a little concerned about Phil, he should stop going to Washington and seeing the attorney general and telling them I should be investigated," Arpaio said. "That's not right. We all should stick together in this county and the city of Phoenix. . . . Let's not bring the Feds down here. . . . Let's resolve our problems ourselves without bringing the federal government down."

Scott Phelps, Gordon spokesman, said the wheels began turning on the investigation in the final days of President Bush's administration.

Phelps said Gordon has expressed concerns about the harassment of citizens in this country.

"(It's) not about whether the law would be enforced or not, but . . . about how citizens' rights are seriously abused in this county," he said.

Arpaio also talked about law enforcement support, how to request help from the female chain gang and how to receive help from his office.

Lillian Cetto, north Phoenix resident, told the sheriff she appreciates his work. She noted his office helped get rid of gangs in her neighborhood in north Phoenix.

www.azcentral.com

Sheriff Joe can be soooooo funny. He gets to be a riot sometimes. I have heard him speak several times and he is a real entertainer.

GO SHERIFF JOE!! I'm sure Sheriff Joe does it by the book. After all he's a former fed himself. There isn't anything about our federal laws he doesn't know and abide.

And of course, the Mayor is a racist. Sheriff Joe arrests all types of people in Maricopa County. If the Mayor thinks the Sheriff's deputies aren't conducting "search and seizures" properly, the investigation shouldn't be about how illegal aliens are being treated, it should be about how everyone is being treated, and if they're all being treated the same, as I'm sure they are, and there is probable cause, as I'm sure there is, then the Mayor is trying to use the feds to make illegal aliens a special group with preferential treatment, which is a violation of the 14th Amendment that establishes "equal protection under the law" prohibiting "special protection under the law".

Phelps said Gordon has expressed concerns about the harassment of citizens in this country.

Arpaio for President!