Thread: AZ-Governor: Decision to pull sheriff's funding was sound

May 14, 8:38 PM EDT


Governor: Decision to pull sheriff's funding was sound

By JACQUES BILLEAUD
Associated Press Writer


PHOENIX (AP) -- Gov. Janet Napolitano said Wednesday that her administration's decision to cut off immigration enforcement dollars to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office wasn't an attempt to change the police agency's approach to cracking down on illegal immigration.

Instead, Napolitano said the decision was meant to provide funding for trying to clear a backlog of nearly 59,000 outstanding felony warrants across the state. She also said state police, who control the funding, have had trouble getting the sheriff's office to collaborate with them.

"We do not intend to use state money for go-it-alone sweeps," Napolitano said.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose agency has the most aggressive local approach in confronting illegal immigration in Arizona, said the decision to yank the funding was an effort by Napolitano and her allies to show their disapproval of his immigration patrols.

"Nobody had the courtesy to tell me," Arpaio said of the decision to pull the funding. "I had to learn through the news media that she was doing this."

Arpaio's immigration efforts include creating a special immigration unit, getting 160 of his officers trained in federal immigration law and setting up a hotline to report immigration violations.

His crackdowns in three heavily Hispanic areas of metropolitan Phoenix during late March and early April drew complaints from other politicians that the sheriff was grandstanding and that the sweeps were fraught with racial profiling. Arpaio said the patrols were intended to suppress crime and that his deputies didn't racially profile Hispanics.

The number of outstanding felony warrants was first raised by Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, who had asked federal authorities to conduct a civil rights investigation of the sweeps and who believes the sheriff should focus on finding felony fugitives.

Napolitano said the Arizona Department of Public Safety's decision to pull the sheriff's immigration funding came during tight budget times and was meant to improve public safety.

Roger Vanderpool, director of Department of Public Safety, had complained in October that the sheriff's office wasn't meeting a requirement of the funding deal that called for the sharing information.

Arpaio said the criticism was a ruse for cutting off the funding and that his office had given such information to the Department of Public Safety but that the state police couldn't put the data into their computers because of a formatting problem.

"They threw every obstacle to keep us from getting that money," Arpaio said.

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"We do not intend to use state money for go-it-alone sweeps," Napolitano said.

Sorry, I dont buy your excuse you broke A$$ SLUG

Ariz. governor ends sheriff's immigration contract

By Chris Kahn
ASSOCIATED PRESS

10:35 p.m. May 13, 2008

PHOENIX – Gov. Janet Napolitano ordered the state to end an anti-illegal immigration contract with a high-profile sheriff Tuesday so she can pay for a larger effort to track down thousands of felons around Arizona.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Tuesday criticized the governor's decision as a maneuver to thwart his efforts against illegal immigrants.

[b]“Dirty politics are at work right now,â€

I stand by my earlier post on Sheriff Joe . He's in the way of the Good Old Boy network of Greed and Illegals being exploited. For some reason i'm smelling a slave labor type situation in Phoenix bought to you by your friendly "Camber of Commerce". Joe's not stupid , he's got backbone . #1 for Joe

Governor denies punishing sheriff
The Associated Press
Published: 05.14.2008
Gov. Janet Napolitano said Wednesday her administration's decision to cut off immigration enforcement dollars to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office wasn't an attempt to change the office's approach to cracking down on illegal immigration.
Napolitano said the decision was meant to provide funding for trying to clear a backlog of nearly 59,000 outstanding felony warrants across the state.
She said state police, who control the funding, have had trouble getting the Sheriff's Office to collaborate with them.
"We do not intend to use state money for go-it-alone sweeps," Napolitano said.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose agency has the most aggressive local approach in confronting illegal immigration in Arizona, said the decision to yank the funding was an effort by Napolitano and her allies to show their disapproval of his immigration patrols.
"Nobody had the courtesy to tell me," Arpaio said of the decision to pull the funding. "I had to learn through the news media that she was doing this."
Arpaio's immigration efforts include creating a special immigration unit, getting 160 of his officers trained in federal immigration law and setting up a hot line to report immigration violations.
His crackdowns in three heavily Hispanic areas of metropolitan Phoenix during late March and early April drew complaints from other politicians that the sheriff was grandstanding and that the sweeps were fraught with racial profiling.
Arpaio said the patrols were intended to suppress crime and that his deputies didn't racially profile Hispanics.
The number of outstanding felony warrants was first raised by Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, who had asked federal authorities to conduct a civil rights investigation of the sweeps and who believes the sheriff should focus on finding felony fugitives.
Napolitano said the Arizona Department of Public Safety's decision to pull the sheriff's immigration funding came during tight budget times and was meant to improve public safety.
Roger Vanderpool , director of the Department of Public Safety, complained in October that the Sheriff's Office wasn't meeting a requirement of the funding deal that called for the sharing of information.
Arpaio said the criticism was a ruse for cutting off the funding and that his office had given such information to state police, but that the state police couldn't put the data into their computers because of a formatting problem.

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/altss/prin ... ocal/85357

Let's see how well the State Police do in enforcement. I don't think they'll do as well as Sheriff Joe, but it would be fantastic if they did, since there are more of them.