Thread: Bakersfield, CA: Controversial "Sheriff Joe" comes

Controversial "Sheriff Joe" comes to town

BY CHRISTINE BEDELL, Californian government editor
Last Updated Saturday, Apr 02 2011 08:06 PM


"You want a scoop?" controversial and colorful Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., said Saturday, sitting in the lobby of Bakersfield's Doubletree Hotel.

He said he has a plan to fight the Mexican thugs that are bringing violence and drugs to the United States, oftentimes the latter on the backs of illegal immigrants.

Arpaio, known for setting up tent-city jails in sweltering desert heat and requiring inmates to wear pink underwear, said he'd send U.S. border patrol and military personnel into Mexico to help that country's police and Army fight the fight. It's the kind of undercover, gun-battling work he said he did as a Drug Enforcement Administration agent stationed in Argentina, Turkey and Mexico.

"People are gonna say it's too dangerous," the 78-year-old, five-term sheriff said. "But we have military in (similarly perilous) Afghanistan and Iraq."

Scoop or no, it was one of many prescriptions for the southwest's woes Arpaio shared in a wide-ranging chat hours before he spoke at a conference of the California Federation of Republican Women.

First some fun stuff.

Arpaio had never been to Bakersfield. When he was taken to Wool Growers for lunch, patrons went gaga over him. After committing to speak here he was asked to attend an event in Phoenix with Tea Party favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., but stuck to his plans.

And Arpaio was terribly disappointed not to be greeted by protesters or lots of television news cameras.

"Nobody reads newspapers," he quipped.

Arpaio gave an update on his new "Operation Desert Sky" in which armed volunteers in fixed-wing aircraft spot smugglers traveling from Mexico into his county. He said the first night netted 115 arrests, including of 80 illegal immigrants and a ton of marijuana.

"California, a sanctuary state, should send me an award," he said. "Most of the people (human and drug traffickers) coming across Maricopa County are coming to California."

An activist group reportedly may ask President Obama to ground Arpaio's posse. But he, pulling out one of his many one-liners, dismissed that:

"We may have a no-fly zone over Libya but you can't tell me not to fly airplanes in Arizona."

Arpaio similarly shrugged off the fact a federal grand jury has been investigating him and others for alleged abuse of power. He noted he just won a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union that sought to stop enforcement of a voter-approved measure denying bail to illegal immigrants arrested on felony charges.

Arpaio has long been controversial for what some consider the harsh way he runs his jails, which also includes serving unappetizing food, implementing chain gangs, airing classical music and educational programming and denying access to pornographic magazines.

"He's a backwards neanderthal," said Bakersfield defense attorney Kyle Humphrey, arguing it's just plain wrong to treat people badly and it's "hard enough to lose your liberty."

"We've tried zero-tolerance, get-tough-on-people things since the 1960s and now all we do is spend every penny building prisons and incarcerating people and the (inmate) numbers keep growing."

Arpaio said he's a big proponent of rehabilitation, too, highlighting his jail drug programs, high schools and an initiative in which incarcerated mothers record themselves reading books for their children to hear.

"Is it cruel because I make them wear pink underwear? Is it cruel because I took away their porno?"

Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said he's frequently asked about Arpaio and his tactics and why he doesn't implement them here, such as housing inmates in the desert. There are practical, constitutional reasons he does not, said Youngblood, who did not attend Saturday's function.

"I think that what Sheriff Arpaio does in Arizona may work well for him but California is controlled by a Democratic-controlled legislature and the tactics he uses would cause the state to close my jails," Youngblood said. "I'm told how many calories each inmate eats per day. If I built tents, California would close my jails. It dictates what you do and don't do."

Asked whether he'd implement some of Arpaio's ideas if he had more freedom, Youngblood said he hesitates to answer "what if" questions. He said he'd have to take a closer look at Arpaio's operations.

Arpaio was asked to speak because the conference's theme was immigration and the Republican women's group was eager to hear about why he's done some of the things he's done on that and other issues, said Shirley Mark, central division president of California Federation of Republican Women.

She praised the Arpaio jail initiatives she's read about. When asked if the fact he's the target of federal investigations gave her pause, Mark said she didn't know a lot about that.

"I don't believe and go along with everything someone says, no matter what party they're from," she said. "I don't believe in everything they do.

"A lot of the things he does are not inhumane. He eliminated things of no value, that didn't help the person in prison. He replaced those things with something beneficial. He doesn't want them there."

www.bakersfield.com

Allright Joe!!!

"He's a backwards neanderthal," said Bakersfield defense attorney Kyle Humphrey, arguing it's just plain wrong to treat people badly and it's "hard enough to lose your liberty."

I would say three squares a day, classical music, educational T.V., and free underwear isn't such a bad deal for criminals.

Always loved joe back in early 90's when he first started doing all that! Never thought an inmate should have it easy they sit around all day doing what ever they want and joe said not going to let it be easy for you prison is supposed to be a place you don't want to be!

"You want a scoop?" controversial and colorful Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., said Saturday, sitting in the lobby of Bakersfield's Doubletree Hotel.

Why is someone who only wants to enforce the law and protect American citizens described as "controversial" by the MSM? The media is a BIG part of this problem!

"We've tried zero-tolerance, get-tough-on-people things since the 1960s and now all we do is spend every penny building prisons and incarcerating people and the (inmate) numbers keep growing

."

And how many of those numbers (inmates) are considered illegal invaders? I don't you see talking about those numbers do I!