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“My name is Raul and I’m going to kill your racist fucking Sheriff because he is a racist.”
That’s what 36-year-old Raul Rentiera Rivera told the Phoenix police dispatcher when he twice called 9-1-1 last Friday.
That’s not what got Rivera arrested, though — he was taken into custody only after he made similar threats when he was stopped for aggravated DUI — blowing a cool .225 BAC — and resisting arrest on Sunday afternoon in downtown Phoenix.
When asked about the death threat at a press conference this afternoon, Arpaio laughed and asked “which one ya talking about?”
Arpaio says he’d heard about the threat but determined it to be less serious than other threats he’s received recently. He says the MCSO will discuss those threats sometime in the near future.
Rivera was booked into 4th Avenue Jail on two counts of threatening and intimidating the Sheriff, and one count of aggravated DUI and resisting arrest. Threatening and intimidating are class one misdemeanors.
James King contributed to this report.
