Arpaio's forces target crime in Guadalupe
Sheriff said he was invited; town officials didn't request his help.
This is getting to be a weekly event," Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said to a waiting throng of journalists as his deputies began their sweep of Guadalupe Thursday.
Arpaio claimed he had been invited by the town manager and councilmen to help the town with what he called a crime-suppression effort. But Mayor Rebecca Jimenez issued a statement Thursday evening saying the town does not support the sheriff's actions.
Arpaio said at the event's onset that there would be 200 deputies and posse members. However, about 50 were part of Thursday's effort, which was significantly smaller than similar sweeps that were conducted in Phoenix neighborhoods over the past few weeks.
By 9:30 p.m., 22 arrests had been made and five of those arrested were believed to be illegal immigrants and seven of the arrested had arrest warrants.
The protests against the sweeps have become another weekly event.
At 4 p.m., when the operation began, there were scarcely 50 people outside the command post in the parking lot of a dollar store at Guadalupe Road and Avenida del Yaqui. That crowd swelled to at least 250 by 7 p.m. They were vocal, and passers-by honked in support.
Arpaio noted that his office is the primary law-enforcement agency for Guadalupe and that he plans to be back out there today.
His office has been criticized in recent weeks for conducting sweeps in Phoenix that Mayor Phil Gordon called "made-for-TV stunts" that endangered police because Arpaio did not coordinate with Phoenix police.
Arpaio said he was asked to help in Guadalupe, where he said tension between illegal immigrants and town residents has escalated.
However, Marianne Carpio, 28, who has lived in Guadalupe 22 years, said she seldom sees deputies on patrol. "His being here for one day is not going to do much," she said, pointing out that she is Yaqui Indian and not Mexican.. "It would be a different thing if he were here every day doing his job."
Arpaio said he had been invited to the town.
Town Manager Mark Johnson told television stations that while he supported efforts to crack down on crime, he did not ask Arpaio to make a special visit.
Former Vice Mayor Rodrigo Flores questioned whether town officials really asked for Arpaio's help. "Arpaio is doing it because he wants to show the Latin people that he has power," he said.
Deputies patrolled the streets of Guadalupe, a small town between Phoenix and Tempe with a population that is roughly 72 percent Hispanic.
They closely watched drivers and if they spotted an infraction, they pulled them over and asked for ID. When they found someone with an outstanding arrest warrant or a lack of identification, indicating they may be in the country illegally, they brought them back in cuffs.
azcentral.com |
