Arizona Sheriff Arpaio to Be Overseen by Federal Monitor

Joseph Arpaio, the sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, will be overseen by a monitor appointed by a judge in a federal lawsuit against him and his department.

U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow in Phoenix today issued an order saying he will appoint an independent monitor to ensure that the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office implements court-ordered changes in its policies and procedures and refrains from racial profiling and discriminatory policing.

“MCSO shall deliver police services consistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States and State of Arizona,” the judge said. “In conducting its activities, MCSO shall ensure that members of the public receive equal protection of the law, without discriminating based on actual or perceived race or ethnicity.”

Arpaio, who calls himself “America’s toughest sheriff,” is appealing Snow’s May decision that his office violated the constitutional rights of Latinos stopped during “saturation patrols.” The judge agreed with a group of Latinos who had sued Arpaio that deputies couldn’t stop and detain them only on the suspicion they were undocumented immigrants.

Arpaio’s department covers Arizona’s biggest county by population, with 3.8 million residents. His methods, including the saturation patrols or “crime suppression” sweeps in predominantly Latino areas in and around Phoenix, have made him a hero to groups seeking a crackdown on unauthorized entrants to the U.S. and a target of advocates for immigrants’ rights.

Tim Casey, a lawyer for the sheriff’s office, didn’t immediately return a call for comment on the order.

“Judge Snow recognized that Sheriff Arpaio’s years of discriminatory practices and unconstitutional policies required major change – including appointment of a federal monitor, data collection and video recording for every vehicle stop,” Dan Pochoda, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, said in a statement.

The case is Melendres v. Arpaio, 07-02513, U.S. District Court, District of Arizona (Phoenix).