There are currently 175 law enforcement job openings at the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, and if you're not a military veteran returning from combat, any application you may submit will only be considered after those submitted by returning military folks, Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced today.
Arpaio has "ordered" that all military resumes received by his office will be placed "in the front of the line" for open law enforcement jobs with his agency.
"My previous military experience assisted me in beginning my law enforcement career with the Washington D.C. Metro Police Department in 1954," the sheriff says. "Now I have the authority to extend this authority to veterans today."
Giving military vets preferential treatment is actually fairly common, as a labor attorney tells New Times. And, at the federal level, it's not considered discriminatory, thanks to the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act.
However, as the attorney points out, "it's sort of weird for a sheriff to be announcing a policy like this."
It's not all that weird when that sheriff is an old headline-hound like Arpaio.
According to the MCSO, once at the "front of the line," military
personnel will be held to the same requirements as other candidates
before they're offered a position with the agency -- military applicants
will be subjected to a "tough regime" of physical and psychological
fitness, and pass a background check.
"This isn't a one-time thing," Arpaio continues. "This is a new policy.
From now on, military personnel will get the first shot at jobs that
come available."
Better military folks than members of Mexican drug cartels -- like some
who've previously found gainful employment with America's
self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff" (yes...members of a Mexican drug
cartel actually infiltrated Arpaio's MCSO. Click here for details).
