Were scare tactics really necessary?: Those poor little children. Deputies in ski masks! Come on, is it really necessary to scare innocent children half to death?
The story of Ciria Lopez-Pacheco and her kids was heart-wrenching.
And the whole thing's about how the cop can't be filmed. Loved that old posse geezer walking up in the video and telling the guy with the camera [Dennis Gilman] that the sheriff's guy's undercover and, therefore, no pictures. The thug cop the geezer was protecting was wearing a ski mask, for crying out loud, so how was his cover going to be blown?! Also, he was driving a marked Maricopa County Sheriff's Office vehicle!
I truly hope Lopez-Pacheco gets to see her children again. What Arpaio's SS did to those children's truly horrendous. I may be wrong, but I predict the Barack Obama administration will be running ICE differently from the Bush administration. Joe's days as an immigration enforcer may be coming to an end.
Dante Hendricks, Tempe
Nappy stick out her neck? Not likely: My hope was that Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his army of miscreants would get their comeuppance under the new Obama administration. But with former Governor Janet Napolitano in charge of Homeland Security, don't hold your breath. Why would she stick her neck out now, when she never did as governor?
Rosemary Gonzalez, Phoenix
Joe = KGB: The story of the woman being taken away by the MCSO in front of her children reminds me of another story a former employee told me about an episode in her childhood.
She was raised in the good old days of communism in Hungary and was at a train station with her father when the secret police grabbed him and left her alone crying.
Sounds to me like Sheriff Joe's using the same methods as the KGB!
Tom Hamlyn, Kanab, Utah
Pathetic. Truly pathetic: The cruelty continues with Joe Arpaio, who's been given a mandate by voters to harass innocent kids. Oh, right, the nativist crowd in Arizona will just crow that they're "anchor babies so who cares?" Pathetic. Truly pathetic! Glad I got out of that hellhole.
John Bennett, Bakersfield, California
Masks are used to avoid lawsuits: [One of the deputies involved in Arpaio's sweep] did, in fact, lie. We proved it. We spoke to an elderly lady who was being given a citation in his backseat afterward. She said he pulled the mask on when we came up and told us he was undercover. She also said he told her he did it so we wouldn't film him.
We have a legal right to film officers [including the other ski-masked deputy who arrested Lopez-Pacheco]. The masks are used for two reasons: to intimidate people and to hide what they are doing so they can avoid lawsuits.
Dennis Gilman, Scottsdale
Can Arpaio be impeached? Please?: Again, why did people re-elect Joe? I think I'm just going to stop voting. Hell, the first time I voted, Bush Sr. got into office, the second time, Bush Jr. got into office, and the third time, Arpaio got back into office.
The only thing good that came out of it was Obama's getting into office. Can Arpaio be impeached? Anything? How do we get that racist bastard out of office? How do we get a real sheriff? How do we get real law enforcement?
Sigh. I'm moving. I'd rather pay higher taxes in a city and state that actually uses the money wisely than in a place that wastes it. It's the fault of all those old snowbird Republicans who vote for Arpaio.
Name withheld
MISSING YOU
Here's how to help the NCMA: Wow! I can't believe the sacrifices Kym Pasqualini has made. Thank you so much, Kym, Jason, Thomas, and all the fine volunteers who are helping the National Center for Missing Adults stay afloat.
I'm a huge supporter of the NCMA and had no idea of the crisis it's in. I'd really hate to see it have to close its doors. It benefits too many people to just sit back and not do anything. To start, I've created a Facebook group to support the NCMA. Please join if you're on Facebook.
Also, I've created a fundraiser on Firstgiving.
I'm spreading the word on Twitter and numerous social networking sites. I urge everyone to do the same. I'm the spokeswoman for missing mother Lilly Aramburo.
Janet Forte, Miami
Shame on everybody for this group's plight: Appalling [that the NCMA will probably close] is an understatement.
Shame on Congress. Shame on this country. Somebody going missing could happen to you or me. Oh, wait, it did happen to me. My uncle went missing 15 years ago. I had to watch my grandmother pass without saying goodbye to her son.
Do you know how that feels? Well, there are far more of us out there than this government would like to acknowledge. I worked for NCMA, and it helped the everyday person, as well as the wealthy and the poor.
There was a celebrity who had several members of her family go missing not that long ago. Yes, they turned up as homicide victims. I have about 200 files in my home office that are all homicides, accidental deaths, and undetermined causes of death. They were all "missing people" at one time.
Someone should care other than those affected.
Name withheld
