By George Fallar 
Let’s play Trump Pardon Trivia!
Who received the first pardon from former president Donald Trump?
Let’s play Maricopa County Legal Bills Trivia!
Who cost Maricopa County over $278 million in suits and fines for racial profiling, deaths in jails, unlawful immigration raids?
The answer to both is Joe Arpaio.
Joe Arpaio was the sheriff and ran the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) from 1996 to 2016.
Like hemorrhoids and cockroaches, the “The World’s Toughest Sheriff” has proven impossible for the people of Maricopa County to get rid of.
Many residents of the most populous Arizona county were pleased to see a Arpaio convicted of criminal contempt by a federal court. Most thought that would force then 85 year old Arpaio to mount his high horse and ride into obscurity. No such luck.
Arpaio Re-enters The (dim) Limelight
Arpaio recently announced he’s running for mayor of a Fountain Hills, a town of 24,000 east of Scottsdale. Republican voters are less worried about his age, 91, than they are about that of President Joe.
I like fountain hills because its a very peaceful town with a great and supportive community. Its a very docile town with a mostly elderly population.
Four (of five) star review from Current resident (as of 2023) – Niche.com
Rave reviews of Fountain Hills like the above aside, Fountain Hills is a small stage for ancient Joe. He must be assuming enthusiastic conservative media attention will continue engorging the size of his stage.
Self Promoting Tough Guy
Joe made his bones on the national conservative circuit by crafting a tough guy image. His fame exploded when word got around about the “tent city” on West Durango in Phoenix.
Maricopa County jails were overcrowded in 1993 so a “tent city” was erected within the jail complex in Phoenix to house overflow prisoners. The temporary solution remained until newly elected Sheriff Paul Penzone shuttered it in 2017.
Surplus tents on wooden platforms crowded with bunk beds aren’t hospitable accommodations. They become less so when 110+ degree summer days and 40 degree winter days arrive. Joe added striped prisoner uniforms, green bologna meals, and pink underwear to sweeten the pot for his image.
All of that was part of the attraction for Arpaio as he polished his tough on crime image.
People ate it up. Media tours and national attention added spendable political capital for Joe.
Hollywood Tough Guy
To buff his image further, Joe once enlisted TV tough guy Steven Seagal to accompany his SWAT team. Arpaio claimed Steve was part of the “Sheriff’s Posse”… volunteer armed civilians who were part of the MCSO work force.
Steve and a SWAT team geared up to film an episode of “Steven Seagal: Lawman.”
They would execute a search warrant.
Steve would use an armored MCSO tactical vehicle to crash through the gate at the residence. A bomb robot and bomb team were there. Also in the mix were canine units, at least 30 deputies, and all the cool intimidating tactical gear they could muster.
They intended to execute the warrant and probably arrest a man suspected of raising cockfighting roosters. They did that and also killed 100 or so of the man’s chickens and his puppy.
The press was notified and Joe, of course, attended.
A&E canceled Seagal’s show before the chicken episode could air. There’s no telling how compelling the final cut of the courageous bust looked.
Arpaio’s Criminal Contempt Conviction
Arpaio was sued in 2007. The suit alleged the MCSO policy profiled Latinos staging sweeps to ferret out people not authorized to be in the country.
Sheriff Arpaio has been holding what he calls saturation patrols in Phoenix-area neighborhoods. They’re aimed at rounding up people in the country without proper documents. Deputies have been stopping cars and detaining people while they ran immigration status checks through the federal government’s database. So, the case was brought by a group of citizens and legal residents who said they’d been stopped just because they are Hispanic.
Ted Robbins describing the situation – NPR
In 2001 MCSO was ordered by the court to stop detaining, holding, or arresting Latinos based on a suspicion they were in the United States without authorization. This policy buffed Joe’s tough guy image and helped make him a nationwide right wing star.
The judge also ordered MCSO patrol officers would wear body cameras and be trained further to ensure “officers aren’t making unconstitutional traffic stops.”
The tough sheriff ignored those orders and the rule of law he was sworn to uphold. Arpaio continued to run “saturation patrols” and later admitted he continued running the racially motivated sweeps for 18 months.
The judge in that case, Judge G. Murray Snow, held Arpaio in civil contempt. In his decision, Snow notes Arpaio repeatedly and knowingly disobeyed his orders to cease policing tactics against Latinos. He further stated those actions amount to systemic racial profiling.
Snow also forwarded a charge of criminal contempt to U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton for disposition. In July 2017, Bolton found Arpaio guilty of criminal contempt and scheduled sentencing for October.
A Favor Now, You Owe Me Later
Joe Arpaio was unlikely to face jail time for his misdemeanor criminal conviction. The maximum sentence was six months, anyway.
Prior to the conviction, Trump had heard about Arpaio’s case. He reportedly checked with his Attorney General Jeff Sessions about the viability of stopping the case. Sessions opined it would be inappropriate to do so.
Trump issued the pardon August 25, 2017 in the midst of Hurricane Harvey making landfall on the Texas coast.
Despite that pardon, Arpaio remains convicted.
The Arpaio Legacy
Being the mayor of Fountain Hills won’t mean much for the Arpaio legend or Fountain Hills.
Joe Arpaio’s legacy produced a more dangerous offshoot, the “constitutional sheriff” ideology. Constitutional sheriff fans consider him their poster boy. So, he supports the movement wholeheartedly.
The danger of the constitutional sheriff movement is a topic for another time. The basic tenet is county sheriffs have supreme authority in their county. The cornerstone is a sheriff holds precedence over all law enforcement, even federal, in all matters.
Pinal County, Arizona sheriff Mark Lamb is running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Senator Mark Kelly. Lamb considers himself a constitutional sheriff who supports everything they represent. It’s no exaggeration to state his election would present real danger to the foundations of our Republic.
Arpaio is, right now, glad handing and pushing Trump to everyone he can reach. He will assist the constitutional sheriff movement to work with a president with a similar authoritarian mindset.
By himself, Joe Arpaio is well past his prime and he wields little influence. The ideology he represents is the real danger that bears watching and resistance.
Research and Supporting Information
- Arpaio announces run for Mayor of Fountain Hills – 12 News
- Joe Arpaio to run for Fountain Hills mayor – Fountain Hills Times Independent
- Arpaio’s Infamous Tent City Jail In Maricopa County Will Shut Down – NPR
- Tough Arizona Sheriff Gets Judicial Reprimand – NPR
- Arizona’s ‘concentration camp – The Guardian