Sheriff's SE Valley sweeps log 36 arrests
by Edythe Jensen and Megan Boehnke - Jul. 24, 2009 12:00 AM

Sheriff Joe Arpaio brought his crime-suppression sweeps to Chandler for the first time Thursday, alarming city leaders and activists who say it could undo the goodwill built with the Hispanic community following the notorious 1997 roundup in the city.

The three-day operation mobilized 200 deputies and posse volunteers to focus largely on Chandler and Queen Creek, including the Arizona Avenue corridor that runs through downtown Chandler where day laborers gather. That's the location of the roundup conducted by Chandler police and border-patrol agents more than a decade ago.

"What we're afraid of is that it will have a great impact all the work that has been done since the roundup," said Alberto Esparza, founder and director of Chandler-based Si Se Puede! Foundation, a youth organization.
Several hours after the operation began, Arpaio reported 36 arrests in Chandler, Tempe and Mesa. A Sheriff's Office statement said eight apprehended were suspected of being undocumented immigrants.

Chandler Mayor Boyd Dunn said he is disappointed that Arpaio didn't contact him or give the city advance notice of a sweep that should have been coordinated with the Chandler Police Department.

"I'm not going to try to step on any toes and Sheriff Joe has the right to go anywhere in Maricopa County that he wants to. But there should have been some discussion with elected officials as a courtesy," the mayor said.

Arpaio replied it was not necessary for him to give Dunn advance notice.

"Last time I checked, I don't report to the mayor and last I heard Chandler happened to be in the county and I'm the sheriff," Arpaio said. He did notify Chandler Police Chief Sherry Kiyler at 6:30 a.m.

Arpaio said he is targeting the area because it's a corridor from Pinal County and the border for human smuggling.

New to the crime-suppression operation - Arpaio's tenth - is recently elected Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, a former Chandler police officer, who offered up 10 of his deputies.

Babeu said this week's sweeps are a far cry from the Chandler roundup a decade ago. It led to a lawsuit from 16 residents who said they were harassed during the operation even though they were legal citizens. The city paid out $500,000 in a settlement along with its massive legal bills.

"There's no similarities whatsoever," Babeu said following a news conference with Arpaio on Thursday. "What we're doing is looking at traffic violations and then looking at all the other crimes discovered from there, or to go after crimes in progress.

"We're not here to inflame the debate but to evolve the debate and focus on the issue I mentioned before about the 10 percent of this population who commit crime."

Within months of the 1997 roundup, the city worked with activists and residents to rebuild relationships with the Hispanic community. Then-Mayor Jay Tibshraeny swiftly established its Human Relations Commission, a 10 seat panel that examines diversity in the city.

Meetings between police and Hispanic residents are held regularly and other event such as the Cinco De Mayo celebration and Cesar Chavez dinner, a fundraiser for the Chandler-based Si Se Puede! Foundation, were established.

Since then, the Sheriff's Office has raided four Chandler businesses accused of hiring undocumented workers. But no raids approaching the scale of the ones in 1997 have occurred during the past 12 years.

Esparza acknowledged that Chandler officials cannot control the sheriff's actions.

"It's important that the community understands that Sheriff Joe Arpaio is going to do what Sheriff Joe Arpaio does, and that has nothing to do with the city of Chandler," Esparza said.

"It's just the panic and the fear, it's going to affect the way things are done in Chandler for a while, but as long as (Arpaio) is out there, those are going to be concerns."


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