Gordon-Arpaio War of Words Expands to Washington
Yvonne Zusel, Phoenix Business Journal, July 30, 2008
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon’s recent trip to Washington included a visit to the office of U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey to ask that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s “recent actions be reviewed.”
{snip}
Gordon alleges that Arpaio has disregarded the constitutional rights of legal citizens by performing racial profiling.
On April 4, Gordon addressed a letter to Mukasey accusing Arpaio’s office of a racially motivated stop and citation against city employee Jessica Rodriguez and her husband during a traffic stop near Bartlett Lake. David was issued a $120 citation when he drove around a sign signaling closed roads after heavy rains had washed out the roads in the area.
Arpaio’s office countered that an investigation into the incident turned up no evidence of racial profiling. The sheriff’s office said the complaining witness was a passenger in the vehicle and was not cited.
Recently, some business owners have accused Arpaio of knocking on their doors and asking to see employees’ work papers in his hunt for illegal immigrants.
{snip}
On Wednesday Gordon invited the national media to Phoenix to see Arpaio’s policies on illegal immigrants.
