President Barack Obama's Justice Department initiated a lawsuit against Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio -- frequently called "America's Sheriff" by his admirers -- on Thursday. Justice Department officials claim he failed to cooperate in its discrimination investigation against him and other Arizona officials.
The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, which also covers the city of Phoenix, is also listed in the suit as a co-defendant.
Many law enforcement officials recognize this lawsuit as part of what they term the "Obama political machine in action." They claim that the U.S. government is targeting any and all individuals involved in enforcement of the state's new immigration enforcement law.
"The actions of the sheriff's office are unprecedented. It is unfortunate that the department was forced to resort to litigation to gain access to public documents and facilities," Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the civil rights division, said in a DoJ press release.
Prior to being elected sheriff, Arpaio served as a local police officer and as a federal agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration. The popular no-nonsense cop was first elected sheriff in Maricopa County in 1992.
He is known nationally for his enforcement tactics and his creative management of the county jail system.
Arpaio told Fox News Channel's Neil Cavuto Wednesday that the Justice Department has demonstrated with its lawsuit that its investigators have no evidence of discrimination or racial profiling as they have falsely alleged.
Observers of this case recall that Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano criticized the Arizona law while admitting they never read it. President Obama used a hypothetical situation to discredit the law during a speech, but the Obama parable was based on a false premise.
Holder's department previously sued to block enforcement of parts Arizona's new immigration law, which was achieved by President Bill Clinton's appointee Judge Susan Bolton.
Arpaio's supporters -- many whom work in law enforcement -- say the Justice Department's civil rights probe and its separate criminal investigation are politically motivated.
"This is an empty-suit attorney general [Eric Holder] wasting taxpayers' money on an investigation of a law enforcement chief who cares more than Obama's minions about the safety and security of Americans. This is a federal government that's out of control," says a former police commander now an owner of a New York City security firm.
Meanwhile, Arpaio's lawyers reject claims that he is uncooperative. The attorneys contend the Justice Department may not require documents simply to see if they can find something to support their suspicions of discrimination.
According to Fox News homeland security correspondent Catherine Herridge, Sheriff Arpaio has been open and transparent about his department's operations including it's jail policies and procedures. He appears regularly on news programs and openly explains his department's activities to reporters, said former police detective Mike Snopes.
Recently, in an effort to bypass the new media's "liberal filter," a mass mailing from the man known as "America's Sheriff" circulated on the Internet to give Americans the unadulterated opinions of the lawman's lawman.
While the pleas from American citizens in Arizona and other states fall on deaf ears in Washington, DC, the violence and crime at the U.S.-Mexico border continues unabated. And instead of offering support for Arizona's initiatives to combat criminal aliens and their violence, the Obama Justice Department and Democrats in his own state decided to target Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio because of his tough immigration enforcement policy.
When the legal director of an influential national group La Raza -- The Race -- that represents day laborers called Arizona's immigration law an "unconstitutional, unwise and odious bill" created by “demagogue leaders” who have become folk heroes for “white supremacists” throughout the country, many within the elite media appeared to chose Arizona law enforcement officials to vilify.
"I cannot compete with the local and national media machines that distort my record and the job I’m doing to protect this country. And, I don’t have the personal resources to defend myself from these vicious attacks," said Arpaio
"You... probably saw that a federal judge blocked the toughest parts of law before it was set to be enacted on July 29th. I still support this law 100%. Even before this law was passed and the judge blocked parts of it, I was the only law enforcement official in this state enforcing all the laws that our federal and state legislatures put in place to combat illegal immigration and human smuggling," said the popular law enforcement official.
"Because I have taken the lead over the years by enforcing existing state and federal laws against illegal immigration, I have become the target of attack by radical, left-wing, open-borders extremists," said Arpaio.
When asked about the people coming to Arizona to oppose immigration law enforcement -- commonly referred to as "carpetbaggers," Arpaio said, "I’ve been sued, picketed, burned in effigy and even had the Reverend Al Sharpton come to Phoenix – TWICE! – to march on my headquarters. Some have even gone so far as to call for my assassination! Now, the Mexican Drug Cartels have issued a “hit” on me."
"One of the local newspapers printed a political cartoon of me and our Governor wearing Nazi uniforms and performing the Nazi salute," he laughed. Showing he gives little credence to the neo-Stalinist tactics of the far-left.
"What these extremists really want is a Sheriff who will look the other way, be silent and allow the charade to continue, while ignoring the laws of our land. That, I promise, will never happen," said Arpaio.
"I won’t back down. I won’t surrender to politicians, thugs or drug dealers!"
Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he's a columnist for The Examiner (examiner.com) and New Media Alliance (thenma.org). In addition, he's a blogger for the Cheyenne, Wyoming Fox News Radio affiliate KGAB (www.kgab.com). Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.
He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He's a news writer and columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he's syndicated by AXcessNews.Com. Kouri appears regularly as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Fox News Channel, Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, etc.
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