Protest against Sheriff's immigration policy heats up
Last Update: 3/02/2009 2:11 pm
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PHOENIX -- Tensions rose between two large groups of protesters in downtown Phoenix on Saturday afternoon.
At issue, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's stand on immigration and his policy to detain undocumented immigrants.
Several thousand people turned out to march from Steele Indian School Park, along Central Avenue to protest Arpaio's practices.
According to Sheriff's Office spokesman Doug Matteson, one man was cited for carrying a concealed weapon after he made verbal threats against Arpaio. He reportedly was also carrying handcuffs and a Los Angeles police department badge.
Deputies are investigating whether the man was permitted to carry the handgun.
The route continued downtown to the Wells Fargo building where Arpaio's offices are located. There is no word on whether the Sheriff was there.
The mostly-peaceful march suddenly turned tense, as a group of Arpaio supporters numbering in the hundreds began to shout at protestors along their route.
Phoenix police officers were posted along the route to keep both sides safe.“We are excited to see such a strong and peaceful showing of opposition to the wrong-headed policies of Sheriff Joe Arpaio,” Salvador Reza of Puente said in a news release after the march. “... 5,000 marched today to make sure that the abuses that we’ve suffered under for far too long move from the local to being dealt with on the national level as well.”
Arpaio said that if the feds want to change the laws, he's still got two state laws on the books to support his efforts to crack down on undocumented immigrants.
The marchers arrived at the Sandra Day O'Connor Federal Building at about 1:30 p.m.
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Copyright 2009 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
