This, is just plain disgusting…
The U.S. Justice Department sued Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Thursday, saying the Arizona lawman refused for more than a year to turn over records in an investigation into allegations his department discriminates against Hispanics.
The lawsuit calls Arpaio and his Maricopa County office’s defiance “unprecedented,” and said the federal government has been trying since March 2009 to get officials to comply with its probe of alleged discrimination, unconstitutional searches and seizures, and jail policies that discriminate against people with limited English skills.
Arpaio, who had been given until Aug. 17 to hand over documents the federal government asked for 15 months ago, called the Justice Department actions harassment.
His office has said it won’t hand over additional documents because federal authorities haven’t said exactly what they were investigating.
“They have hundreds of thousands of reports, hundreds of thousands,” Arpaio said at a news conference Thursday morning in downtown Phoenix. “They’re so broad, we’re trying to narrow it down. We’re trying to work with them.”
The lawsuit is a ruse, Arpaio said.
“I think they know we have not been racial profiling, so what’s the next step — camouflage the situation, go to the courts, and make it look like I’m not cooperating?” he said.
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