Maricopa County Sheriff's Office

No Work Today at New MCSO Headquarters Due to Bomb Inside, Graffiti Claims

Sorry, construction workers -- despite what you may have read on the side of the pricey new headquarters for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, you will not be getting the day off due to a bomb inside the building.See also:-Sheriff Arpaio's New Office Has 574 Square Feet-Joe Arpaio Scores $93M Bu ... More >>

Ex-Sinaloa Cartel Member Had "Array of Police Badges," Phoenix PD Patches, Other Cop Gear

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office says a former Sinaloa Cartel member was found with police body armor, badges, a ballistic helmet, and Phoenix Police Department patches, as well as weapons and other "law enforcement identifiers."The former cartel member, 40-year-old Edward Alvarez, allegedly was ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Blames Obama for Not Arresting Employers Who Hire Undocumented Workers

After the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office pulled off its 70th "employer sanctions operation" (which MCSO now refers to as a "criminal employment operation"), we pointed out yet again that no employers were arrested, or sanctioned, in the operation.Arpaio now says that's probably a job for the Obama ... More >>

Election Day 2012: Pick the Arizona Upset

It's November 6 (6 de Noviembre), which means it's Election Day, folks.Many people already voted with the early ballots, but today's the day that we get to find out who the winners are, and who's going to be running the joint for the next few years.

Brian Fortner Pegged by MCSO as Owner of Duffel Bag Full of Kiddie Porn -- Because He Left His Driver's License in It

How could the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office possibly track down the owner of a duffel bag full of kiddie porn that was tossed in a dumpster in the Northwest Valley?In 27-year-old Brian Fortner's case, investigators probably just had to look at his driver's license -- which he allegedly left in th ... More >>

Sarah Walker Urges Any Victims of Lee Lubonne Come Forward; Talks About Experience

Sarah Walker's doing a rare and brave thing -- going public as an alleged victim of a sexual assault.Walker wants any people who believe they're also victims of Lee Lubonne -- the self-described "sex pig" currently jailed on suspicion of two sexual assaults -- to come forward to the Maricopa County ... More >>

Bill Montgomery Rushes to Arpaio's Aid — Just As Disbarred Predecessor Andy Thomas Used to Do

Steven Seagal Somehow Helped Joe Arpaio's Boys Find a Bunch of Weed

​Actor Steven Seagal added another cameo to his list of appearances with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office last night, and Sheriff Joe Arpaio says Seagal somehow helped real deputies find a bunch of weed.Seagal's starring role in MCSO raids seems to be going down the toilet, as he's gone from r ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Heads to Trial July 19 in Racial Profiling Lawsuit

More than four years after it was first filed, and more than three years since the American Civil Liberties Union lodged its amended complaint in the case, the big racial profiling lawsuit against Sheriff Joe Arpaio --  Melendres v. Arpaio -- will finally go to trial this summer.That is, i ... More >>

Joe Arpaio's Admission of Guilt after Meeting with DOJ

In spite of all of Sheriff Joe Arpaio's bluster, the claims of he and his subordinates that the U.S. Department of Justice's report on his racial-profiling ways is hogwash, and the use of that report by Arpaio's re-election campaign to raise money, Arpaio's office issued a statement yesterday after ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Responds to DOJ's Response to Joe Arpaio's Response to DOJ's Racial-Profiling Investigation

​The Department of Justice's investigation into the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office's alleged racial-profiling practices officially has become a PR showdown -- in response to the the DOJ's response to Sheriff Joe Arpaio's response to the DOJ's investigation, the MCSO has now issued (you guessed i ... More >>

Judge Grants Class Status in Lawsuit to Hispanics Stopped by Arpaio's Deputies, Orders Halt to Human Smuggling Enforcement in Current Form

Image: Ray SternMCSO deputy hassling a Hispanic.​U.S. District G. Murray Snow ruled today that any Hispanic stopped by Sheriff Joe Arpaio's deputies since January 1, 2007 -- or will be stopped in the future -- can sue the sheriff's office in a class-action lawsuit. The ruling in the Melendres rac ... More >>

Joe Arpaio's Racial Profiling Case: Summary Judgment Hearing Set for December 22

If there were Black Hole of Calcutta for bad sheriffs, is there any doubt that Joe Arpaio would be in it? Arpaio, the biggest un-indicted criminal in Arizona, is responsible for so much malfeasance, illegal activity and human misery, that his Teflon Don persona continues to amaze, even as the n ... More >>

MCSO Busts Border Patrol Agent With Oxycodone and Fake Weed

​The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office's Human Smuggling Unit arrested a U.S. Border Patrol agent last night as he was allegedly speeding down State Route 85 in possession of oxycodone and fake marijuana.According to the MCSO, the HSU was patrolling a known drug-smuggling route when they bumped int ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Deputy Accused of Human Smuggling Served on Anti-Human-Smuggling Task Force; Detention Officer Pregnant With Cartel "Kingpin's" Baby

MCSO Sylvia Najera (L), Marcella Hernandez (C), Alfredo Navarette (R) ​The arrests of three Maricopa County Sheriff's  deputies is even juicier than imagined. One, a detention officer, is the baby-mama of a cartel "kingpin" and another is a former member of the sheriff's anti-huma ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Challenger Emerges for 2012 Election. Meet Scottsdale Lieutenant Mike Stauffer

Scottsdale Lieutenant Mike Stauffer​A challenger has emerged to hopefully unseat America's self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff" in the 2012 election.Mike Stauffer, a lieutenant in the Scottsdale Police Department, announced over the weekend that he will take on Maricopa County's corrupt top cop, She ... More >>

Victory for the ACLU Against Arpaio and Lieutenant Joe Sousa

Pei Wei Raided by Sheriff Joe Arpaio

​Illegal restaurant workers, beware: Sheriff Joe Arpaio is after you. Why go after human traffickers or drug dealers or any other kind of bad guys when the Valley's hospitality industry is apparently such a ripe, easy target for tracking down undocumented workers? That's the ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Makes Eating at McDonald's Risky Business for Deputies

www.foundshit.com Next time you're at McDonald's, just ask for the MCSO special. ​If you work for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, you probably won't be tempted to eat at McDonald's anytime soon -- because your boss, Joe Arpaio, claims doing so might be a risk to your health. ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Sued By Sal Reza, and JJ Hensley's Love Affair with the MCSO

Sal Reza and lawyer Stephen Montoya, takin' Sheriff Joe to court Phoenix civil rights activist Salvador Reza filed suit two days ago in federal court against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and several high-ranking Arpaio henchmen over Reza's false arrest on July 30 by a pack of MCSO ... More >>

Phoenix Turns Into a Hurricane of Civil Disobedience After SB 1070 Smack-Down, and the MCSO's Police State Tactics on Parade

Joe Arpaio's Latest Bogus Death Threat

Sheriff Joe never met a fake death threat he didn't like All it takes is a cell phone text and bit of garbled audio to get Sheriff Joe Arpaio running around like a chicken sans head. "America's toughest sheriff"? Puh-lease.  As was reported by Fox 10 back on July 29, and is now ... More >>

Joe Arpaio's Next Headache: Sal Reza Pushes Eric Holder to Take Over MCSO

Sal Reza: Taking it to the streets, and to Eric Holder's deskHot on the heels of news that Wells Fargo wants Joe Arpaio out of his pricey executive suites in the bank's downtown Phoenix tower, human rights activist Salvador Reza is raising the stakes, asking that Attorney General Eric Hold ... More >>

Activist Dennis Gilman's Letter of Disgust to Eric Holder's DOJ Investigators

Like a lot of anti-Arpaio activists in town, videographer Dennis Gilman has been assisting the U.S. Department of Justice gather evidence of abuse of power and racial profiling by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. He's provided them with a massive amount of video that he and others have culled w ... More >>

Rules Be Damned: A Legal Resident Presented Valid Documentation to the MCSO but Was Jailed for 12 Days Anyway

Hot Links: Pat Murphy, Ballers Out, and a Sweat Lodge Rescue

​Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies say they are investigating after someone painted "Kill Obama" in purple spray paint across a pair of political signs in Cave Creek. Sheriff Joe Arpaio says the Secret Service has been contacted, and asks anyone with information to contact his office...Arizon ... More >>

ACLU and Julio and Julian Mora Sue Joe Arpaio, Arpaio Whines on Twitter

Julio Mora with his father Julian at the Arizona ACLU offices today, announcing their lawsuit against Arpaio​As I anticipated in yesterday's blog post, the Arizona ACLU today had a press conference at their offices with father-son Julian and Julio Mora present, announcing a lawsuit on their ... More >>

Joe Arpaio vs. ACLU: New Lawsuit Tomorrow Over Worksite Raid

Is the ACLU's new lawsuit on behalf of Avondale resident Julio Mora? We'll find out tomorrow.​ The Arizona ACLU isn't giving out any details, but they've just issued a press advisory that at noon tomorrow they will announce a lawsuit, "on behalf of two Avondale residents who were illegally a ... More >>

Hot Links: Graves for Gilbert, Guns in School, and MCSO Raids

​The town of Gilbert is a nice place to live, but it's no place to go when you die -- it's the only southeast Valley community without a cemetery. Residents have recently begun e-mailing Gilbert Mayor John Lewis, requesting that a cemetery be built. Lewis said constructing a graveyard may not be f ... More >>

Feedback from the Issue of Thursday, August 6, 2009

MCSO Arrest Rate Is "Startlingly Low," Says Goldwater Institute

Clint BolickThe Maricopa County Sheriff's Office arrested suspects in less than five percent of its cases in 2007, the Goldwater Institute says -- a shockingly low statistic that contradicts what the Sheriff's Office has long officially maintained.The statistics, which the Goldwater Institute ... More >>

How the MCSO Neglected a 14-Year-Old Rape Victim — and Went to Town on Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon

Joe Arpaio, Andy Thomas Lose Again: Arizona ACORN Protesters Beat the Rap on Bogus MCSO Trespassing Charges

photo by Dennis Gilman Arizona ACORN Head Organizer Monica Sandschafer, ecstatic after Friday's win To cop a line from Scarface's Tony Montana, every canine has its day. Every kitty cat, too. I've been busier than blue tick hound with a briar patch full of brer rabbits, so I didn't get to blo ... More >>

Arpaio and the 287(g) Hearings, Direct from D.C.

The Joe Arpaio Brown-Noser of the Week: Sergeant Brett "Shut Up!" Palmer, and, Oh, Joe Hangs Up on Me

from ABC 15MCSO Sergeant Brett "Shut Up!" Palmer. Think he shaves between those brows? So I roll back into town today, happy to return to the land of low humidity, and be free from the muggy swamp of D.C. I'm hoping to have a low key day, and save the venom for another time. But then I check out thi ... More >>

Joe Arpaio's Taxpayer-Funded Reality Show Skewered by the Rep's Richard Ruelas

screenshot from, "Smile...You're Under Arrest!" MCSO says it has no record of these deputies and others who worked the Fox Reality show... Props to the Arizona Republic's Richard Ruelas for looking into Sheriff Joe's Fox Reality show boondoggle, Smile...You're Under Arrest! Ruelas, a former R ... More >>

Driving with 100 Pounds of Pot, 14-year-old Boy Leads Cops at High Speed to Arizona Mills Mall

  You're 14. You've got 100 pounds of pot and an illegal immigrant in the car, and you're being chased by a ticked-off deputy. Where do you go? The mall, naturally. On Tuesday night, a Department of Public Safety officer tried to pull over a passenger car on Interstate 10 near Casa Grande, ... More >>

Smuggling Syndicate Crushed in "Operation En Fuego," AG's Office Says

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard will reveal details tomorrow of the break-up of a large smuggling syndicate thanks to the work of several law enforcement agencies (but not the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office). While Sheriff Joe Arpaio was rousting corn vendors and trying to one-up Mesa ... More >>

Local ICE Office Removed a Record 72,955 Illegal Immigrants in 2008

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio Offers Jobs for Disgraced Cops

Sheriff Joe buffaloes readers with bogus yarns in his book Joe's Law

Open Rebellion: Guadalupe Mayor Rebecca Jimenez demands Sheriff Joe Arpaio cease anti-immigrant sweep.

The bill for Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Honduran scam: $157K and rising.

ACES AND EIGHTS: Appeals court deals Joe Arpaio a losing hand in New Times lawsuit over public docs.

Vick-timization

Backstabbing in Buckeye, DMX's doggy woes, and nativist grandstanding over Officer Erfle's murder p.o. P-town's prickly pelican

Joe Arpaio flack Cpt. Paul Chagolla threatens to arrest yours truly for, uh, being a journalist.

Bird in Hand

U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton has a rare opportunity to investigate Sheriff Joke. Will he do it?

Histrionics Lesson

Again, a judge bends over and allows Sheriff Joe Arpaio to sneer at Arizona's public records law

Dog Day Afternoon

Sheriff Joe's goons launched an assault to make a misdemeanor arrest. The Raid left a burned house, a terrified neighborhood and a dead dog

Gag of an Order

New Times really hit a nerve this time. Sheriff Joe wants a federal judge to shut us up.