Federal government turns up heat against Joe Arpaio

PHOENIX - The federal government is turning up the heat on Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

ABC News has now obtained a Department of Justice letter sent to Arpaio and his attorneys demanding that the sheriff comply with requests from federal investigators.

In the letter, the Justice Department has laid down their exasperation with Arpaio and his reluctance to cooperate with an ongoing discrimination investigation into how the department treats Hispanics with limited English proficiency at some of the country’s jail facilities.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division sent the letter on August 3, 2010 to Arpaio’s lawyers about repeated document requests and asked that they comply with the requests by a deadline of August 17 or be subject to a civil lawsuit filed by the Department.

“Absent MCSO’s voluntary cooperation with this investigation within two weeks -- by August 17, 2010 -- the Department will file a Title VI civil action to compel access to the requested documents, facilities, and personnel,” the DOJ letter reads.

The letter signed by Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division Thomas Perez states, “MCSO’s refusal to cooperate fully with the Division’s investigation makes it an extreme outlier when compared with the recipients of federal financial assistance which have uniformly recognized their obligations to cooperate with the Division’s investigations of alleged discrimination.”

The civil rights investigation is separate from an ongoing federal grand jury investigation in Arizona examining corruption allegations and management issues in the Maricopa County Sherriff's Office.

The civil rights investigation was initiated in March 2009, looking at treatment of Hispanics in jails. The DOJ is also running a patterns and practices investigation into some tactics used by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

In response to the Justice Department’s August 3rd letter, Arpaio attorney Robert Driscoll said, “DOJ has another team investigating MCSO…allowing DOJ to bring suit where there is a pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct or violations of federal law by law enforcement. This ‘pattern and practice’ investigation has been ill-defined from the start, and MCSO still does not know what allegations the DOJ is making or investigating.”

Asked about the back and forth between the Justice Department and Arpaio’s office, Asheesh Agarwal, a former Justice Department attorney now representing Arpaio said, “The Attorney General has publicly promised the world that the investigation 'will produce results.' While we have no quarrel with the Assistant U.S. Attorneys handling the investigation, the Attorney General's comments appear to violate federal regulations, Departmental policy, and state ethical rules designed to ensure the fairness of criminal investigations.”

According to Arpaio’s attorneys and DOJ officials, a meeting is being scheduled to take place next week in Washington on the issue.