PHOENIX — Maricopa County has asked a judge to end federal supervision of the sheriff’s office, saying the oversight is no longer needed. But not everyone thinks it’s time.
Albert Rivera, a community organizer in West Phoenix, says the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office hasn’t fully complied with court orders in the Ortega Melendres case. The class-action lawsuit was originally filed in 2007 against former Sheriff Joe Arpaio over racial profiling and unlawful traffic stops of Latinos.
“The No. 1 thing for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office to do in order to earn our trust back is to do this comply with the court order,” Rivera said.
MCSO has been under court supervision for 12 years. The county filed a motion in court Dec. 17, asking the judge to end the oversight.
“After 14 years, four sheriffs, and hundreds of millions of spent tax dollars, it is essential to defend taxpayer money if federal oversight is no longer warranted,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Thomas Galvin said in a video statement posted on YouTube.
Galvin said the Melendres case has been successful, adding that MCSO now has a “durable system in place” to ensure drivers’ civil rights are protected.
"All that's left to enforce are matters unrelated to discriminatory policing, which should be left to the sheriff, who was elected by you, the Maricopa County residents,” he said.
The sheriff’s office still has work to do on reforms, Rivera said, but has made progress.
“There are a lot of great deputy sheriffs that I've gotten to know personally,” he said. “They're great.”
But he also questions how much the department has really changed, noting that current Sheriff Jerry Sheridan was Arpaio’s chief deputy and has hired a number of figures from the Arpaio years.
“How are we supposed to trust the sheriff's office as a whole if you still have people from the Joe Arpaio days that took pride in going after people?” he said.
Galvin and other county supervisors have pointed to the cost of the reforms, which the county estimates at more than $300 million.
Rivera criticized the supervisors' focus on the spending.
"They don't really care about anybody going through racial, discriminatory police practices," he said. "They only care about the money."
But the price tag is also in dispute.
A court-ordered audit released in October found 72% of the expenses attributed to Melendres compliance were improperly charged. According to the audit, MCSO wrongfully billed golf carts, horses, car washes and even employee salaries.
The ACLU of Arizona, one of the plaintiffs in the Melendres case, opposes ending court supervision.
“The County’s effort to end reforms now is like a doctor choosing to end treatment when a patient’s cancer is only partially cured,” Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, deputy director of the ACLU’s Criminal Law Reform Project, said in a statement. “The people of Maricopa County are entitled to complete reform and protection against a return of the Arpaio days, and the County has not yet delivered.”
Rivera said he hopes the judge keeps oversight in place.
“My message to Judge Snow is to basically ... not give in to what the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors want,” he said.
