Joe Arpaio – known as America’s “toughest sheriff” for his stances on immigration and treatment of prisoners – has announced he’s seeking election to a seventh term as Maricopa County sheriff after being voted out of office in 2016.
Following discussions with his wife, the 87-year-old veteran of federal, state and local law enforcement
said there “simply wasn’t any other option.”
“We’ve reached a moral crossroads and this election will not only determine our immediate future – but the future for generations to come. I had to be a part of it,” he said.
During his service from 1993 to 2016, he focused on violent drug dealers, human traffickers and gang members, he noted, and those issues haven’t gone away.
He became famous for banning smoking, coffee and movies in jail – which included “tent jails” in the Arizona desert heat – and providing pink underwear to inmates to deter theft.
The leadership of the current sheriff, Paul Penzone, is “weak and ineffective,” Arpaio said.
“Political correctness and appeasement may work for some other elected officials, but the people expect their chief law enforcement official to go after the bad guys and protect our communities,” he said.
Anticipating criticism, he said, “Bring it on.”
In 2011, the Obama Justice Department found Arpaio committed multiple civil rights violations against Latinos, including racial profiling. In 2017, he was convicted of criminal contempt after a judge found he had defied a court order to stop his signature immigration patrols.
President Trump later pardoned him.
At the time, the White House said, “In 1992, the problems facing his community pulled Arpaio out of retirement to return to law enforcement. He ran and won a campaign to become sheriff of Maricopa County.
“Throughout his time as sheriff, Arpaio continued his life’s work of protecting the public from the scourges of crime and illegal immigration.”
The White House said that “after more than 50 years of admirable service to our nation, he is worthy candidate for a presidential pardon.”
Arpaio’s career began at the age of 18 when he enlisted in the military after the outbreak of the Korean War.
His accomplishments “exemplify selfless public service,” the White House said.
“After serving in the Army, Arpaio became a police officer in Washington, D.C., and Las Vegas, Nev., and later served as a Special Agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), formerly the Bureau of Narcotics. After 25 years of admirable service, Arpaio went on to lead the DEA’s branch in Arizona,” it said.
Arpaio was the first to sue Barack Obama over his 2014 administrative orders, which allowed another 4 or 5 million illegal aliens to remain in the United States.
Arpaio had been at odds with the Obama administration since its beginning, mostly over illegal immigration. The sheriff sued because of the impact illegal aliens have on the safety and security of his county’s residents. Federal officials, in turn, have accused him of not treating illegals properly.
A split panel of federal judges said Arpaio didn’t have standing to sue, with the minority expressing outrage that the concerns of the sheriff of one of the nation’s largest counties, on the border with Mexico, would be dismissed.
