Joe Arpaio

Joe Arpaio
Arpaio in 2024
36th Sheriff of Maricopa County
In office
January 1, 1993 – January 1, 2017
Preceded byTom Agnos
Succeeded byPaul Penzone
Personal details
Born
Joseph Michael Arpaio

(1932-06-14) June 14, 1932 (age 92)
Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Ava Lamb
​
​
(m. 1958; died 2021)​
Children2
Conviction(s)Criminal contempt of court (federal misdemeanor)[1] (conviction not final per 9th Circuit[2] because of pardon by President Trump)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1950–1954
UnitMedical Detachment Division

Joseph Michael Arpaio[3] (/ɑːrˈpaɪoʊ/; born June 14, 1932) is an American former law enforcement officer and politician. He was the Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona for 24 years, from 1993 to 2017, losing reelection to Democrat Paul Penzone in 2016.

Starting in 2005, Arpaio took an outspoken stance against illegal immigration, styling himself as "America's Toughest Sheriff".[4][5] In 2010, he became a flashpoint for opposition to Arizona's SB1070 anti-illegal immigrant law, which was largely struck down by the Supreme Court of the United States.[6][7] Arpaio is also known for investigating former U.S. President Barack Obama's birth certificate, and, as of 2018, he continued to claim without evidence that it was forged.[8][9]

Arpaio has been accused of numerous types of police misconduct, including abuse of power, misuse of funds, failure to investigate sex crimes, criminal negligence, abuse of suspects in custody, improper clearance of cases, unlawful enforcement of immigration laws, and election law violations. A Federal court monitor was appointed to oversee his office's operations because of complaints of racial profiling. The U.S. Department of Justice concluded that Arpaio oversaw the worst pattern of racial profiling in U.S. history, and subsequently filed suit against him for unlawful discriminatory police conduct.[10] Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) were named as defendants in dozens of civil lawsuits brought by citizens arrested by Arpaio and his deputies alleging wrongful arrest, wrongful death, entrapment and other claims, costing taxpayers in Maricopa County over $140 million in litigation against Arpaio during his tenure as sheriff.[11][12]

Over the course of his career, Arpaio was the subject of several federal civil rights lawsuits. In one case, he was a defendant in a decade-long suit in which a federal court issued an injunction barring him from conducting further "immigration round-ups".[13] A federal court subsequently found that after the order was issued, Arpaio's office continued to detain "persons for further investigation without reasonable suspicion that a crime has been or is being committed."[13] In July 2017, he was convicted of criminal contempt of court, a crime for which he was pardoned by President Donald Trump on August 25, 2017.[14] In a separate racial-profiling case which concluded in 2013, Arpaio and his subordinates were found to have unfairly targeted Hispanics in conducting traffic stops.[15]

Although Arpaio sought another term as Maricopa County Sheriff in 2016, the contempt of court conviction eroded much of his remaining political support, and he was defeated in the election by Paul Penzone, a Democrat who reversed many of Arpaio's policies after taking office. Arpaio was an unsuccessful candidate in Arizona's Republican primary election for U.S. Senate in 2018. In 2020, Arpaio failed in his attempt to become the Maricopa County Sheriff again.[16][17] In 2022 and 2024, he lost in his attempts to unseat the incumbent mayor of Fountain Hills, Arizona.[18][19]

  1. ^ Swenson, Kyle (October 20, 2017). "Federal judge refuses to erase Joe Arpaio's conviction despite Trump pardon". Washington Post.
  2. ^ United States v. Arpaio
  3. ^ Kiefer, Michael (September 11, 2015). "Sheriff Joe Arpaio has always done it his way: Chapter 2; A lone wolf from the outset". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  4. ^ Janofsky, Michael (May 16, 2002). "Another Plot Against Tough Sheriff, With a Twist". The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2010.
  5. ^ The original source for the sobriquet "America's Toughest Sheriff" is unknown, however both Arpaio and his press relations staff promote its use. Arpaio's book is titled "America's Toughest Sheriff."
  6. ^ Barnes, Robert (June 25, 2012). "Supreme Court Rejects Much of Arizona Immigration Law". The Washington Post.
  7. ^ Multiple sources:
  8. ^ Tatum, Sophie (January 11, 2018). "Joe Arpaio: Obama's birth certificate is a 'phony document'". CNN. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference still a birther was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Multiple sources:
  11. ^ Roberts, Laurie. "Roberts: Joe Arpaio just cost you another $4.5 million". The Arizona Republic.
  12. ^ Cohen, Andrew (January 8, 2014). "'The Most Expensive Sheriff in America' Is Getting More Expensive". The Atlantic. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  13. ^ a b Cassidy, Megan (July 31, 2017). "Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio found guilty of criminal contempt of court". The Arizona Republic.
  14. ^ Moore, Lindsay; Flaherty, Joseph (August 25, 2017). "Sheriff Joe Arpaio gets pardon from Donald Trump". The Phoenix New Times. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  15. ^ Santos, Fernanda (May 24, 2013). "Federal Judge Finds Violations of Rights by Sheriff Joe Arpaio". The New York Times. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  16. ^ Johnson, Alex (August 25, 2019). "Ex-sheriff Joe Arpaio, pardoned by Trump, wants his old job back". NBC News. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  17. ^ "Joe Arpaio loses sheriff's race in second failed comeback bid". NBC News. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  18. ^ "Joe Arpaio running for Fountain Hills mayor in 2022". Fountain Hills Times. October 8, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  19. ^ "Valley mayoral races: Joe Arpaio loses again, Mesa contest is tight". KTAR-FM. July 31, 2024.