10/05/2012 - Myclipp

Reuters General/ - Article, Qui, 10 de Maio de 2012
CLIPPING INTERNACIONAL (Civil Rights)
U.S. sues Arizona sheriff for
discrimination
By Tim Gaynor PHOENIX | Thu May 10, 2012 1:44pm
EDT PHOENIX (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice
Department sued an Arizona sheriff on Thursday for
civil rights violations, alleging he and his office
intentionally engaged in racial profiling and unlawful
arrests of Latinos in violation of their constitutional
rights. The lawsuit cited systemic profiling, sloppy and
indifferent police work and a disregard for minority
rights by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a
conservative Republican who styles himself as
"America's toughest sheriff," and county
officials."Leadership starts at the top and all of the
alleged violations that are outlined in the complaint are
the product of a culture of disregard for basic rights...
that starts at the top and pervades the organization,"
Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights
Division Thomas Perez told reporters.Perez said the
Justice Department sued Maricopa County, the
sheriff's office and Arpaio in U.S. District Court in
Arizona after trying unsuccessfully for three and a half
months to get Arpaio to comply with federal civil rights
law.Arpaio faces re-election in November in the county
that includes the Phoenix metropolitan area. He has
become the face of hardline local efforts to crack down
on illegal immigration, placing him on a collision course
with the federal government.Maricopa County has
created inadequately trained special units that are
used to target Latinos for unlawful and unjustified
arrests; has willfully denied Latino prisoners their civil
rights in jail; and under Arpaio's direction has arrested
political opponents for no valid reason, the DOJ suit
contends."At its core, this is an abuse of power case
involving Sheriff Arpaio and a sheriff's office that
disregarded the Constitution, ignored sound police
practices and did not hesitate to retaliate against
perceived critics in a variety of unlawful ways," said
Perez."Constitutional policing and effective policing go
hand in hand. The complaint outlines how Sheriff
Arpaio's actions were neither constitutional nor
effective," he said."VOLUNTEER POSSE"The lawsuit
cited the use of a "volunteer posse" or group of
untrained civilians that carry out Arpaio's anti-Latino
policies in a county of 4 million people that is 30
percent Latino.Latino drivers in one part of the county
are nine times more likely to be stopped than
non-Latino drivers engaged in similar conduct, the suit
said.In one case, a sheriff's officer stopped a Latina - a
U.S. citizen who was five months pregnant - as she
pulled into her driveway and insisted that she sit on the
hood of her car."When she refused, the officer grabbed
her arms, pulled them behind her back, and slammed
her, stomach first, into the vehicle three times," the suit
said.Arpaio's combative style and defiance of federal
threats have made him a hero to nativists and
conservatives who advocate strict border enforcement.
Meanwhile he is a pariah to liberals and immigrant
rights advocates.In March, he drew headlines with an
assertion that his office had found that President
Barack Obama's birth certificate was a forgery. Most
Republican critics of Obama have given up pursuing
such widely discredited "birther" allegations.On the eve
of the lawsuit alleging racial-profiling, Arpaio released
a 17-page document entitled "Integrity, Accountability,
Community - The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office
2012," pledging to overhaul his office."I do not tolerate
racist attitudes or behaviors. We at the Maricopa
County Sheriff's Office do not foster a 'culture of
cruelty,'" Arpaio said in a statement."With that in mind,
I required my staff to consider how we can engage in
more community outreach, to enhance our law
enforcement and detention services and to build public
trust. And I asked that this process be undertaken with
our critics in mind. Their voices should be heard," he
said.ARIZONA VS WASHINGTONHis pledge was too
late to avoid a lawsuit, which comes amid a broader
battle between the state and the Obama administration
over who has the right to implement immigration
law.The U.S. Supreme Court is currently weighing
Arizona's defense of its crackdown on illegal
immigrants, signed into law by Republican Governor
Jan Brewer in 2010.The law requires police to check
the immigration status of people they stop and suspect
of being in the country illegally. The measure is among
several blocked by a federal judge.Brewer and backers
of the law said it was needed because Washington
had failed to secure the porous Mexico border. But
Obama and other critics filed suit arguing that it
pre-empted federal authority on immigration and made
Hispanics the target of racial profiling.A Supreme
Court decision upholding Arizona's law - known as SB
1070 - would be a legal and political setback for
Obama as he seeks re-election in November. A ruling
striking down the law would be a defeat for Brewer and
a setback for Republican White House hopeful Mitt
Romney, who supports it.The case will be closely
watched by Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, South
Carolina and Utah, which followed Arizona in passing
immigration crackdowns. A ruling is not expected until
June or July.(Additional reporting by Edith Honan and
Daniel Trotta; Editing by Anthony Boadle)
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