# It's time (again) to officially Pit Joe Arpaio and the Maricopa County prison program. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 15, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329 "2011-12-15T19:59:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329/1 "2011-12-15T19:59:15Z")
Apparently the feds, after a lengthy investigation, have finally realized what many have known for years: [ > [@](#): > > Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s office has committed a wide range of civil rights violations against Latinos, including a pattern of racial profiling and discrimination and carrying out heavy-handed immigration patrols based on racially charged citizen complaints. ]([http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US\_ARIZONA\_SHERIFF\_CIVIL\_RIGHTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-12-15-13-03-49](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ARIZONA_SHERIFF_CIVIL_RIGHTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-12-15-13-03-49)) > [@](#): > > “Arpaio’s own actions have helped nurture MCSO’s culture of bias,” wrote Thomas Perez, who heads the Justice Department’s civil rights division, adding that the sheriff frequently gave such racially charged letters to some of his top aides and saved them in his own files. > > “MCSO is broken in a number of critical respects. The problems are deeply rooted in MCSO’s culture,” he said Thursday. > > The Justice Department’s expert on measuring racial profiling said it’s the most egregious case of racial profiling in the nation that he has seen or reviewed in professional literature, Perez said. I’ve never liked this cocksucker or his policies, and will go thru the day with a slight smile when he final gets his comeuppance. Apparently there’s more than one possible source for said comeuppance, too: > [@](#): > > Apart from the civil rights probe, a federal grand jury also has been investigating Arpaio’s office on criminal abuse-of-power allegations since at least December 2009 and is specifically examining the investigative work of the sheriff’s anti-public corruption squad. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329/2 "2011-12-15T20:41:34Z")
Wonder if he’ll enjoy living in a tent and wearing pink underwear. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329/3 "2011-12-15T20:42:29Z")
I support this pitting 100%. Arpaio is a tool and made my grandmother very, very angry. This will make her quite pleased, I imagine. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329/4 "2011-12-15T20:46:16Z")
It all means nothing until he’s either indited or removed from office. I’m guessing he’s an elected official, so apparently his county is happy with scum like him. So the Feds are gonna have to do something. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329/5 "2011-12-15T20:48:12Z")
_puts fingertips together_ EXXXXXCELLEEEENT… Yes, a hearty Fuck You to the biggest asshole in American law enforcement history. There’s other news lately about his failure to investigate sex crimes (Too busy hassling brown people). [http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/10/us/sheriff-joe-arpaio-criticized-over-handling-of-sex-crimes-cases.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/10/us/sheriff-joe-arpaio-criticized-over-handling-of-sex-crimes-cases.html) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329/6 "2011-12-15T20:56:46Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > It all means nothing until he’s either indited or removed from office. I’m guessing he’s an elected official, so apparently his county is happy with scum like him. Nitpick: _indicted_. And yes, it’s an elected office. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329/7 "2011-12-15T21:05:44Z")
I seem to recall in another thread about this guy, it was mentioned that other law enforcement officers think this guy is a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329/8 "2011-12-15T21:23:37Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > It all means nothing until he’s either indited or removed from office. I’m guessing he’s an elected official, so apparently his county is happy with scum like him. > > So the Feds are gonna have to do something. Yes, so while we’re at it, let’s consign to the fiery furnace at least a plurality of the citizens of that county who elected and re-elected this tool, because presumably they like what he does. I hope he is subjected to the indignity of losing his next election, and then immediately indicted and convicted of various of these crimes. Unfortunately, if convicted he will presumably serve in a federal prison which, although secure, is surely not as unpleasant as his little county lockup. Cosmic justice would be to have him be re-incarnated as a Latino, who is fully aware of his previous life, and who ends up as an illegal in his own old county. Maybe as a Latino woman with children born in the US. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329/9 "2011-12-15T21:26:05Z")
He can be an anchor baby! ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329/10 "2011-12-15T21:32:36Z")
Good. He is a real piece of shit. I hope he suffers a lot before it’s over. Asshole. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329/11 "2011-12-15T21:38:25Z")
In b4 a conservative apologist shows up… ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2011, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329/12 "2011-12-15T23:28:53Z")
I’m not exactly one with his finger on the pulse of the county, but the impression I get around here in Phoenix is that Arpaio is ‘tough on crime’, regardless of the level of detail a particular person might be aware of. Folks know he’s an asshole, but they _like_ that about him. Criminals don’t need coddling! I don’t vote for him and I’d love to see him go. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329/13 "2011-12-16T14:55:12Z")
A statement from Eleanor Pelta of the American Immigration Lawyers Association includes this: > [@](#): > > Recent revelations indicate that the sheriff’s office has been ignoring serious sex crimes to instead concentrate on harassing the Latino population in search of undocumented immigrants. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329/14 "2011-12-17T01:44:08Z")
Question – how secure would it be to have inmates living in tents outside? I would think you’d want them locked up in the jail itself? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329/15 "2011-12-17T01:50:18Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Question – how secure would it be to have inmates living in tents outside? I would think you’d want them locked up in the jail itself? [The tents are behind double chain link fences with barb wire on top](http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=maricopa+county+jail+tent&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=bfTrTvGoJefe2AWRuPylDw&biw=1084&bih=1064&sei=GPXrTpiGCMqPsQLTxfDOCQ). ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329/16 "2011-12-17T01:51:29Z")
I’m guessing it’s cheaper to build a tower with a couple guys with rifles to shoot people than it is to build so many cells, walls, kitchens, etc. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329/17 "2011-12-17T01:59:52Z")
I have the feeling, strangely enough, that if the FBI or other law enforcement decided to look closely enough at this man, they might _literally_ find a skeleton in his closet. Or buried under the rose bushes. Or stored in a chest freezer. Or mounted as a trophy. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329/18 "2011-12-17T02:01:53Z")
I’ll add in that, as somebody who used to run prisons, that Arpaio is a disgrace to our profession. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329/19 "2011-12-17T02:26:13Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > [The tents are behind double chain link fences with barb wire on top](http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=maricopa+county+jail+tent&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=bfTrTvGoJefe2AWRuPylDw&biw=1084&bih=1064&sei=GPXrTpiGCMqPsQLTxfDOCQ). Hmm, I’d still feel a lot more secure with them inside. I’m just sayin’. BTW, somewhat off topic, but when did prisoners stop wearing the striped pjs, and why? ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329/20 "2011-12-17T04:15:03Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Question – how secure would it be to have inmates living in tents outside? I would think you’d want them locked up in the jail itself? From what I understand, the tents are for people who haven’t managed to raise bail. They haven’t been to court yet, they are there due to lack of money. Personally, I think they are the ones who should be in a building with the ones who have been sentenced in the tents. I think its not right to treat someone who has just been accused of a crime like someone who has been convicted of a crime. For the record, I don’t live in Maracopa County, so I have no option to vote or against Arpaio. Please don’t think that all people who live in Arizona voted for him. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-time-again-to-officially-pit-joe-arpaio-and-the-maricopa-county-prison-program/606329.md?page=2)