Arpaio denies Gordon's claims he associates with hate groups
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PHOENIX -- It was a bold statement, made at a surprising moment.
On Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Phil Gordon was expected to talk about the light rail, but instead opened the news conference with a discussion on the fatal shooting of a guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C.
The gunman was identified as James Von Brunn, who law enforcement claim is a white supremacist that ran an anti-Semitic website.
Gordon then accused Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio of being associated with hate groups and said, “I ask the sheriff today to publicly denounce his associations with these hate mongers and apologize, so we can begin righting the ship. He should denounce the Nazis and neo-Nazis for the first time.”
Gordon cited events that he said are examples of Arpaio fraternizing with hate groups.
First, he said that the Sheriff spoke in March 2008 at the Sunnyslope VFW while two self-described Nazis were in the room.
Then, he said that in November of 2007 the Sheriff said the following on CNN, “Well, you know they call you KKK. They did me. I think it’s an honor right? It means we are doing something right.”
Gordon said it was on the Larry King Show, when in fact the Arpaio was speaking with Lou Dobbs.
Then, Gordon brought up the immigration protest march that happened near Tent City on May 2.
Gordon said Arpaio spoke with neo-Nazi demonstrators and allowed them to take pictures with him.
Various clips posted on YouTube show the Sheriff sitting in the backseat of a black car.
He stops by a group of his supporters and chats with them before one of the supporters squats down near his open window while another snaps a photo.
It is this video that many believe is at the heart of the controversy and the source for Gordon's comments.
Hours after Gordon's news conference, Arpaio sat down for a one-on-one interview in his office.
He calmly explained that he speaks with everyone to include the people marching against him.
“I have an open door policy every time I go on the street people want my picture and I have my picture taken. I can't (tell) them 'We are going to check you with the FBI' and so on.”
He went on to say that this is just one incident and he would have no way of knowing that the people he was speaking to could be part of a hate group.
“I’m driving by and someone had a picture outside the car. They say he belonged to this neo-Nazi group. I don't know, I don't know these people.”
Arpaio also said the Lou Dobbs quote is being taken out of context.
He said the intent of the statement was to say that the more people who argue with him and call him names, the more it shows he is doing his job and fighting crime.
It's not uncommon for a tough sheriff to have enemies.
When it comes to the VFW meeting accusation, Arpaio explained that just like any other elected official, you never know the background of all the people in a room where you are holding a speech.
He said he would never check people's credentials for talking to them, "I just don't do that."
Arpaio also explained that while he didn’t want to go too much into his personal life for security reasons, he could tell us, “I have grandkids of all different kinds of backgrounds, okay? I have a daughter-in-law who is Hispanic.”
He said make no mistake about it, “I have never supported racist groups. I do not support these organizations.”
He also thought Gordon was out-of-line to use the word "associate."
“He said I associate with the groups, that's a pretty serious allegation," said Arpaio. "I do not associate with these types of groups.”
Meantime, Arpaio also thought it was inappropriate and callous to use the horrific shooting in Washington D.C. to launch an attack on him.
Calling it a “sad” move he added, “How low can you get?”
Gordon told ABC15 he appreciates that Arpaio has denounced the groups.
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Copyright 2009 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
