Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio, a racist police officer who used his position of power for racial profiling, illegal arrests and creating unconstitutional and horrific jail conditions, was charged Tuesday with criminal contempt of court for charges allegedly related to ignoring a federal judge’s order in a racial profiling case.
The Associate Press reports:
The criminal charges stem from the profiling case that Arpaio lost three years ago that morphed into a contempt case after the sheriff was accused of defying a 2011 court order to stop his signature immigration patrols.
Arpaio has acknowledged violating U.S. District Judge Murray Snow’s order but insists his disobedience was not intentional.
The contempt charges stem from a 2013 racial profiling case that found that Arpaio’s signature immigration patrols, raids and traffic stops unfairly targeted Latinos and therefore violated their constitutional rights. Despite Arpaio’s insistence that his actions were not intentional. Judge Snow still believed that he continued his patrols because he thought that going hard on immigration would help his chances of re-election in 2012. The residents of Maricopa County have spent a whopping $48.2 million to aid his defense in the racial profiling case thus far, with the total cost projected to hit $72 million by mid-2017.
If convicted, the 84-year old Arpaio could face up to six months in jail. He’s also seeking re-election for his seventh consecutive term. Good luck with that, buddy.
GET JEZEBEL RIGHT IN YOUR INBOX
Still here. Still without airbrushing. Still with teeth.
