Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio released the details of an investigation Tuesday about a racial profile claim made by Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon.
Gordon wrote a letter to the Attorney General of the United States on April 4th, accusing Arpaio's office of a racially motivated stop a citation against a city employee.
Gordon said, "A member of my own staff was one of six drivers recently detained by one of the Sheriff's deputies for 'off-roading' in a restricted area (as they were completing a U-turn to correct heir mistake). The first five drivers were asked to show a drivers' license and released without being cited. My staff member was asked not for her license, but for her Social Security card –and was issued a citation. She was the only Hispanic of the six. The other five were Anglo."
In response to the letter, Arpaio ordered an investigation into the charge.
The Mayor's office requested the records and a complaint from December 7, 2007 was discovered, according to Arpaio.
The employee was a passenger in the vehicle at the time of the offense according the Sheriff's office.
Arpaio's report says the employee was not cited, not asked for identification, and apologized to the Sheriff's Office sergeant investigating the incident for "throwing out the 'racial card'".
"The Sheriff's office had to waste substantial time, money and assets investigating these groundless charges," said Deputy Chief Jack MacIntyre. "It is inconceivable that the Mayor did not know his claim of racial profiling was false. He could have taken ten minutes in the four months between this citation and his baseless letter to the Attorney General of the United States. It would have taken him no time to check his facts."
MacIntyre continued, "To not do so is irresponsible for anyone, never mind a lawyer and mayor."
Sheriff Arpaio said, "I have always stressed equal treatment by my employees of everyone they deal with in the public. I was confident that the Mayor's political attack letter was groundless and false. I am sending a copy of my report to the U.S. Attorney General with a suggestion that he may want to look into the actions of this mayor who makes baseless accusation to try to force me to ignore the State and Federal laws on illegal immigration."
