Thread: Arpaio plans to sweep Mesa on Thursday

June 24, 2008 - 2:10PM
Arpaio plans to sweep Mesa on Thursday
Comments 5| Recommend 0
Katie McDevitt, Tribune
Sheriff Joe Arpaio plans to bring his anti-illegal immigration sweeps into Mesa Thursday, according to a letter hand-delivered to Mesa police Chief George Gascon this morning.

The letter gave no details on which part of the city will be targeted or when exactly deputies are coming, Gascon said in a phone interview.

“It just basically is addressed to me that the sheriff is notifying me that his department will be coming in to do crime suppressions in the City of Mesa,â€

Richins said the council is working on creating its own policy toward illegal immigration, but he said the details are still being ironed out.

You know there is already a policy in place. It's ILLEGAL immigration and the policy even defines what is SUPPOSED to happen. No need to have a policy if your own, except the one that says UPHOLD THE LAW!

"keep the public, protesters and even the sheriff’s deputies safe. "

What a joke, MCSO is one of the largest and best trained and equipped law enforcement agency in the country, they need help to stay safe ???

Originally Posted by jimpasz

"keep the public, protesters and even the sheriff’s deputies safe. "

What a joke, MCSO is one of the largest and best trained and equipped law enforcement agency in the country, they need help to stay safe ???

Exactly! Keep them SAFE from law enforcement. Brother. What they mean is hide the illegals or make sure the protesters know where they will go so they can make charges of brutality etc. Joe is much wiser than that.

I would love to be there to see the Joe and his group go into Mesa.

mayor.smith@cityofmesa.org; councilmember.richins@cityofmesa.org; councilmember.finter@cityofmesa.org; councilmember.kavanaugh@cityofmesa.org; councilmember.jones@cityofmesa.org; councilmember.higgins@cityofmesa.org; councilmember.somers@cityofmesa.org; debra.dollar@cityofmesa.org; jack.friedline@cityofmesa.org; Karolyn.Kent@cityofmesa.org; bryan.raines@cityofmesa.org; clerk.info@cityofmesa.org; denise.traves@cityofmesa.org

Mayor Scott Smith
Councilmember Dave Richins - District 1
Councilmember Alex Finter - District 2
Councilmember Dennis Kavanaugh - District 3
Vice Mayor Kyle Jones - District 4
Councilmember Dina Higgins - District 5
Councilmember Scott Somers - District 6
City Manager Christopher Brady
Assistant City Manager Debra Dollar
Deputy City Manager Jack Friedline
Deputy City Manager Kari Kent
Deputy City Manager Bryan Raines
Linda Crocker, City Clerk
Denise Traves, Community Partnership Coordinator

June 24, 2008 - 7:03PM
Arpaio plans to sweep Mesa on Thursday
Comments 30| Recommend 3
Nick R. Martin, Katie McDevitt, Tribune
Word spread quickly throughout the Valley on Tuesday: Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s immigration sweeps are finally coming to Mesa. In a hand-delivered letter to city officials, the Maricopa County sheriff revealed he would bring his long-talked-about immigration sweeps to the city on Thursday.

PDF: Read the letter from the MCSO to the Mesa Police Department

In doing so, the two-day notice raised the spectre of violence and widespread protests that have put the city, its police officers and residents on edge since Arpaio first promised the sweeps in April.

“Lives are in jeopardy,â€

Mr (name removed),

Thank you for your comments. Mesa will continue to support inter-agency effort to reduce crime in our City. On the issue of illegal immigration, the Council will address additional policies is a future study session; I believe in July.

Yours in service,

Scott Somers

Buzzm1 I like your style a patriot in action

Sheriff plans to begin sweep Thursday in Mesa
June 26th, 2008 @ 7:55am
by Colton Shone, Bob McClay, Jim Cross/KTAR, AP wires

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio plans to begin a crackdown Thursday on immigration and other criminal violations in Mesa.

An estimated 200 people working for the sheriff's office will focus on Arizona's third-largest city in what's expected to be a two-day crackdown.

The sheriff has drawn criticism that sweeps in three heavily Hispanic areas of metropolitan Phoenix during late March and early April were thinly veiled immigration patrols fraught with racial profiling. A total of 150 people, nearly half of whom were illegal immigrants, were arrested in the sweeps.

Immigrants' rights activist Elias Bermudez said his group, Immigrants Without Borders, is urging people to stay away from the Mesa sweep if they have immigration issues.

``We're going to have drivers who have a valid driver's license, who have valid identification, they are going to be driving around where Sheriff Joe's going to be and we're going to see if he's not racial profiling," Bermudez said.

He said the sheriff's ``actions are terrorizing our community. It is so unfortunate that, when he has the power to truly arrest criminals, he's going after the most vulnerable people and those are the people who are here to work."

Arpaio said his deputies don't racially profile people and don't expect troubles from protesters in Mesa.

Mesa Police Chief George Gascon, who was miffed at the way he heard about the sheriff's operation, said he has a plan of action to deal with the opposing groups who will show up.

``What we want to ensure is that we provide a safe environment for everyone who goes there to express their political views," Gascon said. ``Number two, we want to ensure that we provide a safe environment for our residents and for our businesses, and, thirdly, that we ensure appropriate traffic flow through the area."

Fabian Cota with the Mesa Police Association says Arpaio is sending the wrong message. "The message that I'm receiving from him is that he's very unprofessional to put the lives of other officers and the community at risk for a publicity sweep. Seems a bit extreme for me for a professional."

But Cota admitted the sheriff is entitled to use his resources however he wants.

Mesa Mayor Scott Smith said he hopes the operation goes well, without problems.

``Emotions are running high. This has now turned into a media event, almost more than a law enforcement event," Smith told News/Talk KTAR's Larry Gaydos. ``When you have that combination, it can get volatile."

Some residents have different views of Arpaio's planned crime sweep.

One woman said if she had the chance to talk to Arpaio, she would say, "Get out of here and leave us alone."

One male resident had a completely different view of what he'd say to the sheriff. "Keep on doing what you're doing Joe, but also realize that your actions could lead to you being removed from office."

Another Mesa resident agreed. "If he's doing his job and if he thinks it's the right way to do it, hey, why not go for it?"





http://ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=878877