Sheriff tells Mesa of sweep

Sheriff tells Mesa of sweep
Crime-suppression event set for Thursday
Senta Scarborough, JJ Hensley and Gary Nelson
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 25, 2008 12:00 AM

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is bringing his crime-suppression sweep to Mesa on Thursday but hasn't provided details about the operation to Mesa police, Chief George Gascón said.

Mesa received the two-day notice in a hand-delivered letter Tuesday.

"It doesn't tell us when or where," Gascón said. "We are currently working with the sheriff's personnel to get some further information and how many days the operation will be."

In April, Gascón and the head of one of Mesa's police unions asked Arpaio for at least two days' notice before bringing his enforcement detail to the city because of potential risks to officers and the public. Gascón sent the letter to Arpaio after several East Valley lawmakers requested the sheriff bring the sweeps to Mesa.

Gascón also asked for the time and location of any anti-immigration sweep so the department can redirect its resources.

He also asked to have a Mesa police officer in the MSCO command post and a sheriff's deputy inside Mesa's command post to foster communication between the agencies during an enforcement detail.

Arpaio said the unwillingness of Mesa police to take his approach to enforcing the state's human-smuggling law made coordination difficult.

"It's very difficult to work with police side-by-side when they don't believe in enforcing the laws we enforce," Arpaio said Tuesday. "If their policy was the same as ours, and they ask (about legal status) and they lock them up, then, you know what, we might be able to work pretty close together."

The fact that word leaked from the Mesa Police Department could prompt deputies to move the operation to the weekend, Arpaio said.

However, Gascón said he heard from community members and the media about the sweeps before he received notice Tuesday morning. He said he hoped to have the scope of the operation today.

"We recognize that there will be some disruptions to traffic but we want the community to know we are working very hard to ensure their safety and the safety of everyone involved," he said.

Arpaio's deputies made two unannounced visits to Mesa in November. Sheriff's sweeps in Guadalupe and Phoenix this year have drawn large pro-immigration or anti-Arpaio crowds. Arpaio moved the command post out of Guadalupe for the second night of enforcement after he said demonstrators made him uncomfortable.

Guadalupe resident David Myers, an attorney and priest, said Mesa has made strides in improving relations with Hispanics the past couple of years and fears a sheriff's operation could damage that.

"I feel very sorry for the people of Mesa and the stress it will bring to Mesa," Myers said. "I am overwhelmed with horror with the injustice that will very likely happen to Mesa as it happened to the people of Guadalupe."

Mesa Mayor Scott Smith welcomed Arpaio's heads-up and said Mesa would cooperate.

"We look forward to working with the sheriff," Smith said. He said the agencies cooperate regularly, largely because of the many county islands on the city's east end.

But Mesa Police Association President Fabian Cota said the notice without details on when, where and how long is "inadequate" for police to be prepared for the worst.

"It is not what you would expect from another law-enforcement agency conducting an enforcement in another law enforcement's jurisdiction," Cota said.

City Councilman Dennis Kavanaugh said he was happy Arpaio provided two days' notice but is wary of the possible outcome and would prefer the sheriff stay away.

"The city councils really don't have the power to prevent it . . . because the sheriff does have concurrent law-enforcement jurisdiction in the community," Kavanaugh said.

"I hope the sheriff means what he says about cooperating with the Mesa Police Department, and that any of his efforts here in the community be done in a fair and constitutional manner," Kavanaugh added.

Arpaio said his office didn't plan to release information about the operation in Mesa until Thursday and blamed Mesa police for courting media attention and fanning the flames of protest groups who oppose the Sheriff's Office.

"Is it because it's politically motivated because he (Gascón) doesn't want us locking up illegal (immigrants)?" Arpaio wondered. "We've done this many times. We're not going to let his concerns change our policies."
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... o0625.html

Is there any one good reason why the Sheriff's Dept. should release the details in advance?

So that Gascon and the other pro-illegals here in Mesa can make sure that it gets out and hoardes of pro-illegals and IAs show up to harass the officers, interfere in the performance of their duties, put on their screaming, yelling, weeping and wailing show for the media and try to instigate a violent incident?

I think that Joe is taking the right precautions: Let Mesa know he's coming, they can have plenty of resources on stand by and deploy them to wherever Joe sets up, when he sets up.