|
 Robert Warshaw, a former police chief in New York and North
Carolina, was appointed by a federal judge to enforce a sweeping
court order against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a prominent
but divisive figure in the national debate on immigration reform.
A federal judge ordered Arpaio in May to stop using race when making
law enforcement decisions, in response to a lawsuit that tested
whether police could target unauthorized immigrants without
profiling U.S. citizens and legal residents of Hispanic origin.
The resolution of that case requires that a court monitor be
appointed to oversee the work of Arpaio, who calls himself
"America's toughest sheriff."
Warshaw, who also served as the associate director of the Office of
National Drug Control Policy in the Clinton administration, is
expected to begin work immediately, the judge's order showed. He
could not immediately be reached for comment.
Arpaio said he was not "overly concerned" about the monitor and that
he is used to being under scrutiny during his six terms as sheriff.
"His role as monitor is quite limited by the court ruling, and we
will work with him and his team to accomplish the ruling's
objectives until such time as the appeal process is decided," he
said in a statement.
Arpaio denies that his deputies racially profile and has appealed
the court order.
REVIEW ARPAIO PROCEDURES
U.S. District Judge Murray Snow, who appointed the independent
monitor, has said one was needed to ensure that Arpaio no longer had
deputies use race when making law enforcement decisions.
The monitor's duties are to include reviewing the sheriff office's
policies and procedures, as well as making sure that its operations
are carried out in a "race-neutral fashion," according to the
judge's earlier order.
[to top of second column] |
Snow also mandated other steps be taken, including appointing a
community advisory board, ensure audio and video recording of all
traffic stops, increased training of sheriff's office employees, and
comprehensive record keeping.
Cecillia Wang, director of the American Civil Liberties Union
Immigrants' Rights Project and a plaintiffs' counsel in the lawsuit,
said she was pleased with the appointment or Warshaw, whom her group
had proposed as a possible monitor.
The appointment came on the same day that Arpaio demanded the U.S.
Federal government pay an estimated $39 million to cover the costs
of complying with the profiling ruling. He said the government was
to blame for improperly training his staff in conducting crime
suppression operations that led to the penalties.
"It is neither appropriate nor fair that the taxpayers of Maricopa
County be responsible for the costs and expenses incurred in this
matter," he wrote in the letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder
and the general counsel for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in
Phoenix.
Wang said the sheriff should stop blaming others and start
complying.
"The trial record was crystal clear," Wang said. "The sheriff
engaged in intentional discrimination against Latinos and he said he
would stick with his policies whether or not the federal government
agreed."
(Editing by Cynthia Johnston, Gunna Dickson and Richard Chang)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
