Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has been given a proposal that would revamp the MCSO's disciplinary policies after promising last summer to hire an outside consultant to examine the sheriff's current disciplinary practices.
The sheriff's promise was in response to the Pinal County Sheriff's Office's investigation into the MCSO, which led to the ouster of three of the sheriff's top henchmen, former Chief Deputy Dave Hendershott, former Deputy Chief Larry Black, and former Captain Joel Fox.
See New Times' story on the PCSO's investigation here.
MCSO spokesman Jeff Sprong declined to discuss the details of the proposal, saying it's still just a proposal and is yet to be finalized.
Arpaio is equally vague about the proposed new "discipline matrix.".
"This proposal will ensure any violations of policy are met with the
discipline that is evenly applied to all and considers all
circumstances," the sheriff says.
The man Arpaio pegged with the task of revamping the MCSO's discipline
policies is Mike Branham, a former cop who's served as the director of
the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission as well as heading the Arizona
Department of Juvenile Corrections.
Sprong isn't sure how much taxpayer coin Branham is receiving in consulting fees -- he says he'll find out and get back to us.
Check back for updates.