The taxpayer bill for the racial profiling case stemming from former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s immigration crackdowns will reach $273 million by the summer of 2024.
FILE - In this Aug. 26, 2019, file photo, former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio poses for a portrait at his private office in Fountain Hills, Arizona. On Monday, May 22, 2023, county officials said legal and compliance costs in a racial profiling lawsuit over Arpaio's immigration crackdowns is expected to reach $273 million by the summer of 2024.
Under Arpaio, who was voted out as sheriff in 2016, the internal affairs operation was heavily criticized for biased decision-making. It now suffers from a crushing backlog of more than 1,900 internal affairs investigations under Arpaio’s successor, Sheriff Paul Penzone. Late last year, Penzone was found in civil contempt of court for noncompliance with the internal affairs overhaul.
“But the big pillar -– racial profiling -– that continues,” Piña said. “Until you wrap your arms around the big issues, compliance and the monitoring does not go away. And you still have the costs. If there is not a moral imperative to fix it, there is financial imperative to get us out of this bottomless pit.”
“These costs continue to increase as salaries, benefits and contracts increase over time due to inflation,” the agency said. “Even as we become compliant, many of these costs will remain as removing them could jeopardize future compliance.” Arpaio’s immigration patrols, known as “sweeps,” involved large numbers of sheriff’s deputies converging on an area of metro Phoenix — including some Latino neighborhoods — over the course of several days to stop traffic violators and arrest other offenders.
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