Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva called for Joe Arpaio to resign after accusations that the Maricopa County Sheriff botched over 400 sex-crime investigations in a period of three years.
“This nothing-to-see-here attitude is the worst kind of unaccountable arrogance, and Mr. Arpaio needs to step down before any more damage is done to public confidence in our law enforcement and justice system,” Grijalva (D) said Monday in a press release. “The picture emerging – no follow-up, no investigation, no prosecution, no justice and a shield of silence after the fact – is not how we conduct law enforcement in this country.”
“Mr. Arpaio might love headline-grabbing crackdowns and theatrical media appearances,” Grijalva continue, “but when it comes to the everyday work of keeping people safe, he seems to have lost interest some time ago. He should give the affected families a sense that justice is finally being done by taking the honorable route and resigning now.”
The AP reported over the weekend that current and former police officers accuse Arpaio of inadequately investigating over 400 sex-crimes, or not investigating them at all. Many of the cases involved illegal immigrants.
In the city of El Mirage, for example, there were 32 child molestations reported — 26 of which had suspects — that AP‘s sources say were not properly investigated. Read more here.
