Ariz. sheriff shows none of typical swagger at trial
Associated Press
PHOENIX
There were no TV cameras, no scrum of reporters, no protesters — and there was no swagger inside the courtroom when the typically brash Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio took the stand to face critics who say he and his deputies racially profile Hispanics.
Under questioning from lawyers representing a group of Latinos who are suing him and his department, Arpaio spoke in a hush, offering that he was suffering from the flu.
He was asked: Why did you call illegal immigrants “dirty?”
The Maricopa County sheriff responded quietly, clearing his throat often, and saying the statement was taken out of context. He added that if a person were to cross the U.S.- Mexico border on foot over four days in the desert, that person “could be dirty.
“That’s the context on how I used that word,” he said.
The case represents the first time the sheriff’s office has been accused of systematic racial profiling and will serve as a precursor to a similar yet broader civil- rights lawsuit filed against Arpaio by the U.S. Justice Department.
Arpaio long has denied racial-profiling allegations and said Tuesday, “We don’t arrest people because of the color of their skin.”
Letters in the sheriff’s immigration file took center stage during his testimony — as did his previous statements, which critics say show prejudiced thinking on his part.
Lawyers in court asked Arpaio: What about your statement on a national TV news show saying you considered a 2007 comparison between your department and the Ku Klux Klan “an honor”?
Arpaio responded that he doesn’t consider the comparison an honor, adding that he has no use for the KKK.