Defiance that made Joe Arpaio popular leads to his downfall
PHOENIX — The political defiance that made Joe Arpaio popular and seemingly untouchable as metro Phoenix’s sheriff of 24 years ultimately led to his downfall Monday as he was convicted of a crime for ignoring a U.S. court order to stop traffic patrols that targeted immigrants.
The TV interviews and news releases that the media-savvy lawman used over the years to promote his immigration crackdowns came back to bite him. The judge who found him guilty of misdemeanor contempt of court cited comments Arpaio made about keeping up the patrols, even though he knew he was not allowed.
“Not only did defendant abdicate responsibility, he announced to the world and to his subordinates that he was going to continue business as usual no matter who said otherwise,” U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton wrote.
The verdict marked a final rebuke for a politician who once drew strong support from such crackdowns but was booted from office last year as voters got frustrated with his deepening legal troubles and headline-grabbing tactics, such as jailing inmates in tents during triple-degree summer heat and making them wear pink underwear.
Arpaio told The Associated Press that he didn’t have an immediate comment on the verdict, but his attorneys said they will appeal. The 85-year-old is set to be sentenced Oct. 5 and could face up to six months in jail, but attorneys who have followed the case doubt someone his age would be incarcerated.
Critics said the verdict that followed a five-day trial in Phoenix was a longawaited comeuppance for a lawman who had managed to escape accountability through much of his six terms.
Lydia Guzman, a Latino civil rights advocate and longtime Arpaio critic, said the sheriff was partly responsible for Arizona’s reputation as a place that’s intolerant of immigrants.
“He is the one who led the rally against immigrants, and the legislators followed suit,” Guzman said, noting Arizona’s landmark 2010 immigration law. “I hope a lot of this is erased and that Arizona can go back to being a normal state. I don’t know when that will be.”
Prosecutors say Arpaio ignored the 2011 order from a different U.S. judge so he could promote his immigration enforcement efforts in an effort to boost his 2012 re-election campaign. That judge later ruled the traffic patrols racially profiled Latinos.
The sheriff had acknowledged prolonging his patrols for nearly a year and a half but insisted it was not intentional. He also blamed one of his former attorneys in the racial profiling case for not properly explaining the importance of the court order.