PHOENIX (AP) — Joe Arpaio is running to get back his old job as sheriff of metro Phoenix. His 24 years as sheriff were defined by a series of tough-on-crime tactics and legal problems that cost taxpayers millions of dollars.
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JAILS
Arpaio won points with voters for making jail inmates wear pink underwear and housing them in canvas tents during Phoenix’s triple-digit summer heat. His get-tough approach proved popular with voters who believed jail was supposed to be difficult, but it led to lawsuits.
He opened the Tent City jail complex in 1993 to ease overcrowding. But it was criticized for serving as a media promotion tool for Arpaio and contributing to a culture of cruelty within the jails.
He also said his office started dyeing the jail-issued underwear in the 1990s to discourage inmates from taking home the undergarments after they were released from custody. Critics say the change in underwear colors was intended to humiliate men serving time.
Arpaio’s successor, Sheriff Paul Penzone, has since closed Tent City.
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IMMIGRATION
Arpaio spent nine years in office enforcing federal immigration law. Unlike other local police leaders who left it to U.S. authorities, Arpaio’s staff made hundreds of arrests in traffic patrols that sought out immigrants and business raids in which his officers targeted immigrants who used fraudulent IDs to get jobs.
His immigration powers were eventually stripped away by the courts and federal government, culminating with a judge ruling in 2013 that sheriff’s deputies racially profiled Latinos in Arpaio’s immigration patrols.
His refusal to stop traffic patrols that targeted immigrants ultimately led to a criminal case that contributed significantly to his re-election loss in 2016.
Arpaio was later convicted of misdemeanor contempt of court for ignoring a judge’s order to stop his immigration patrols but was pardoned by his most powerful ally, President Donald Trump.
By next summer, the taxpayer bill for legal and compliance costs in the profiling case is expected to reach $150 million — roughly one third of which was paid while Arpaio was still in office. No one involved in the case or in county government can say exactly when the financial hemorrhaging will slow down or end.
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ALLEGATIONS OF POLITICAL RETALIATION
Arpaio was accused at various times of retaliating against political enemies.
He was dogged for years by claims that he launched investigations of judges, politicians and others who were at odds with him.
His office arrested two county officials and a judge on corruption charges that quickly collapsed in court. Maricopa County agreed to pay $8.7 million to settle lawsuits by people who said they were investigated on trumped-up allegations. Arpaio contended he was trying to root out corruption.
He was later accused of investigating the judge who presided over a racial profiling case against the sheriff’s office and whose order Arpaio ignored, leading to his conviction. Arpaio vigorously denied the allegation.
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BOTCHED SEX-CRIMES INVESTIGATIONS
Arpaio’s reputation was undermined by his failure to adequately investigate more than 400 sex-crimes cases, including dozens of child molestation reports, from 2004 to 2007.
Arpaio offered a qualified apology in 2011 and said his office had moved to clear up the cases and took steps to prevent the problem from happening again.
Officials agreed in 2015 to pay $3.5 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged Arpaio botched the investigation into the rape of a 13-year-old girl and failed to arrest the suspect who then went on to attack her again.
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LEGAL COSTS
Maricopa County spent $147 million defending Arpaio against lawsuits. That includes $54 million in the racial profiling case alone and $93 million in judgments, settlements and legal fees for the sheriff’s office, covering issues such as lawsuits over deaths in his jails and the lawman’s failed investigations of political enemies.
For much of his career, the taxpayer costs didn’t diminish Arpaio’s popularity enough to drive him out of office. But his legal costs were believed to have contributed significantly to his loss in the 2016 sheriff’s race.