In a new blog Stephen Lemons at Feathered Bastard looks into the psyche of Sheriff Joe and wonders if he is a master strategist or just plain stupid.
A cross between Ronald Reagan post-presidency and Sgt. Schultz from a Hogan’s Heroes rerun: That’s the impression Sheriff Joe Arpaio gave recently during a seven hour deposition under oath as part of the big Melendres vs. Arpaio racial-profiling lawsuit now working its way through federal court.
Under rigorous interrogation by David Bodney, attorney for the firm of Steptoe & Johnson, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, Arpaio admitted that he had never read the complaint in the case, was unfamiliar with the details of the allegations of racial profiling therein, didn’t know the content of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and had never read the Department of Justice’s guidelines concerning the use of race in investigations, which would have applied to his deputies in the field when they were still operating under a 287(g) agreement with ICE.
Indeed, our seemingly hapless sheriff was completely uninterested in any claims against MCSO deputies regarding allegations of racial profiling. He expressed complete confidence that his men would never engage in the practice, and deferred to his staff, particularly Deputy Chief Brian Sands, as to why certain areas of Maricopa County were targeted for anti-immigration sweeps.
In one of the more amusing passages of a highly entertaining 306 page document, Arpaio confessed that he hadn’t even bothered to read in its entirety his latest book, Joe’s Law, co-written by Arpaio’s slithery, long-time sycophant Len Sherman.
Asked if the 2008 book reflected his views, Arpaio waffled.
“I am not sure,” Arpaio replied. “To the best of my knowledge, I haven’t reviewed the book recently. In fact, I haven’t even read the book…totally.”
Read the entire blog here.