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Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s armed citizen patrols of schools is continuing for another school year.
Arpaio’s NRA-approved posse patrols went without any serious incidents last year, when Arpaio instituted the program in response to the Newtown, Connecticut, elementary school shooting.
See also:
–New Times Rolls With Joe Arpaio’s School-Patrol Posse; Nobody Dies
–Joe Arpaio’s School-Patrolling Posse Not POST Certified; I.E., They Ain’t Cops
Arpaio’s office sent out the media alert that Arpaio’s going to be kicking off this year’s patrols today at a school in Laveen (coincidentally, the same neighborhood where an unlicensed 16-year-old crashed while driving his six younger siblings to their first day of school, killing three of them and another driver).
Although Arpaio hypes up the program by noting that some of these posse folks are trained in the use of semi-automatic rifles, the whole thing’s kind of lame.
New Times did a ride-along with a 69-year-old posse member last year, as we took laps around an Anthem elementary school at about 15 mph, seeing nothing in particular.
All of the schools being patrolled are in MCSO’s jurisdiction, and MCSO tends to be in charge of the more low-key areas of the county, like Anthem.
The people on patrol don’t have much authority, either, as their first move in most cases will be calling in actual MCSO deputies to any sort of incident.
The list of schools in MCSO jurisdiction can be found here.
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Follow Matthew Hendley on Twitter at @MatthewHendley.
