http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/05/10/482323/ten-most-disturbing-anti-latino-practices-described-by-dojs-lawsuit-against-sherriff-joe-arpaio/
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/05/sheriff-joe-arpaio-allegedly-not-only-harrassed-latinos-but-ignored-crime/257033/

Earlier today, the Department of Justice filed a formal legal complaint against Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) alleging widespread constitutional violations and lawless mistreatment of Latinos. According to the complaint, Arpaio and his staff engaged in widespread, violent and demeaning mistreatment of Latino residents of Maricopa County, often targeting individuals solely because of their race:

1. Forcing Women To Sleep In Their Own Menstrual Blood: In Arpaio's jails, "female Latina LEP prisoners have been denied basic sanitary items. In some instances, female Latina LEP prisoners have been forced to remain with sheets or pants soiled from menstruation because of MCSO's failure to ensure that detention officers provide language assistance in such circumstances."
2. Assaulting Pregnant Women: "[A]n MCSO officer stopped a Latina woman - a citizen of the United States and five months pregnant at the time - as she pulled into her driveway. After she exited her car, the officer then insisted that she sit on the hood of the car. When she refused, the officer grabbed her arms, pulled them behind her back, and slammed her, stomach first, into the vehicle three times. He then dragged her to the patrol car and shoved her into the backseat. He left her in the patrol car for approximately 30 minutes without air conditioning. The MCSO officer ultimately issued a citation for failure to provide identification."
3. Stalking Latina Women: "In another instance, during a crime suppression operation, two MCSO officers followed a Latina woman, a citizen of the United States, for a quarter of a mile to her home. The officers did not turn on their emergency lights, but insisted that the woman remain in her car when she attempted to exit the car and enter her home. The officers' stated reasons for approaching the woman was a non-functioning license plate light. When the woman attempted to enter her home, the officers used force to take her to the ground, kneed her in the back, and handcuffed her. The woman was then taken to an MCSO substation, cited for 'disorderly conduct,' and returned home. The disorderly conduct citation was subsequently dismissed."
4. Criminalizing Being A Latino: "During raids, [Arpaio's Criminal Enforcement Squad] typically seizes all Latinos present, whether they are listed on the warrant or not. For example, in one raid CES had a search warrant for 67 people, yet 109 people were detained. Fifty-nine people were arrested and 50 held for several hours before they were released. Those detained, but not on the warrant, were seized because they were Latino and present at the time of the raid. No legal justification existed for their detention."
5. Criminalizing Living Next To The Wrong People: "[D]uring a raid of a house suspected of containing human smugglers and their victims . . . officers went to an adjacent house, which was occupied by a Latino family. The officers entered the adjacent house and searched it, without a warrant and without the residents' knowing consent. Although they found no evidence of criminal activity, after the search was over, the officers zip-tied the residents, a Latino man, a legal permanent resident of the United States, and his 12-year-old Latino son, a citizen of the United States, and required them to sit on the sidewalk for more than one hour, along with approximately 10 persons who had been seized from the target house, before being released."
6. Ignoring Rape: Because of Arpaio's obsessive focus on "low-level immigration offenses" his officers failed "to adequately respond to reports of sexual violence, including allegations of rape, sexual assault, and sexual abuse of girls."
7. Widespread Use Of Racial Slurs: "MCSO personnel responsible for prisoners held in MCSO jails routinely direct racial slurs toward Latino prisoners, including calling Latino prisoners 'paisas,' 'wetbacks,' 'Mexican bitches,' 'fucking Mexicans,' and 'stupid Mexicans.'"
8. Widespread Racial Profiling: "[I]n the southwest portion of the County, the study found that Latino drivers are almost four times more likely to be stopped by MCSO officers than non-Latino drivers engaged in similar conduct. . . . In the northwest portion of the County, the study found that Latino drivers are over seven times more likely to be stopped by MCSO officers than non-Latino drivers engaged in similar conduct. . . . Most strikingly, in the northeast portion of the County, the study found that Latino drivers are nearly nine times more likely to be stopped by MCSO officers than non-Latino drivers engaged in similar conduct."
9.Random, Unlawful Detention Of Latinos: "MCSO officers stopped a car carrying four Latino men, although the car was not violating any traffic laws. The MCSO officers ordered the men out of the car, zip-tied them, and made them sit on the curb for an hour before releasing all of them. The only reason given for the stop was that the men's car 'was a little low,' which is not a criminal or traffic violation."
10.Group Punishments For Latinos: "In some instances, when a Latino [Low English Proficiency] prisoner has been unable to understand commands given in English, MCSO detention officers have put an entire area of the jail in lockdown-effectively preventing all the prisoners in that area from accessing a number of privileges because of the Latino LEP prisoner's inability to understand English, inciting hostility toward the LEP prisoner, and potentially placing MCSO officers and other prisoners in harm's way."

If you want to view the formal complaint, click here:
http://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/resources/46420125101544060757.pdf

Personally, I am amazed this is still happening. Then again, this is the same sherrif that's been in legal hot water for years over his constant obsession with illegal immigrants. So what do you think, Escapist?

Captcha: army training, sir!

jesus christ, the captcha is right once again.

As a note, the constant "?"s are because of the escapist not recognizing fonts.

Wow, that is a lot of racism. Can't believe those stupid bastards got away with it for so long. Glad someone is finally doing something.

So shooting people is cool but racism is frowned upon... well I guess that's something, lesson learned for the cop there, if you have a problem with Latinos just shoot them.

Mr.K.:
So shooting people is cool but racism is frowned upon... well I guess that's something, lesson learned for the cop there, if you have a problem with Latinos just shoot them.

Now now, Holder didn't actually shoot any latinos. Gave the drug lords guns like Oprah hands out prizes to her guests, which THEY then used to murder people, sure. As well as put in the most DUMBFUCK Border Patrol regulations about nonlethal weaponry. But he didn't PERSONALLY shoot anyone.

I'm sure this has nothing to do with ideological differences between Joe Arpaio and the current administration. Nope, couldn't be anything there.

Perhaps Eric Holder just got tired of helping foreign nationals acquire guns illegally in the US and then take them back across the border. The operation was code named "Fast and Furious" for anyone wanting to find out about corruption in the DOJ.

But, then again, maybe Joe is doing wrong here. If he is, I hope he gets slammed for it. Him and every other corrupt officer involved.

Lazier Than Thou:
I'm sure this has nothing to do with ideological differences between Joe Arpaio and the current administration. Nope, couldn't be anything there.

Perhaps Eric Holder just got tired of helping foreign nationals acquire guns illegally in the US and then take them back across the border. The operation was code named "Fast and Furious" for anyone wanting to find out about corruption in the DOJ.

But, then again, maybe Joe is doing wrong here. If he is, I hope he gets slammed for it. Him and every other corrupt officer involved.

Joe has been investigated and accused of constitutional violations for years. The government hoped he would get the message and stop, but he only gets worse.

In fact, his prison is more like a death camp out in the desert. The supreme court stepped in and stated he MUST give food, water, and healthcare for the prisoners or else they WILL imprison him.

He did what they asked, barely. After that, he was cited time after time for not being cooperative with the government, and misusing funds. All of that is illegal. He even REFUSED TO SUBMIT TO FEDERAL AUTHORITY during an INVESTIGATION and tried to hide official documents.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arpaio

he has a very sordid history, and is hated in America. Yet somehow he keeps his office.

I am amazed this story got so little attention from the Escapist, especially considering its subject matter.

A side note, while this story ties both racism and nationalism, I really hate how people call it "racist" to be discriminatory against Mexican immigrants.

I really don't think that many of the anti-immigrant people are racist against Latinos, but heavily prejudiced against Mexicans. Huge difference. Most of the people that are anti-Mexican in LA, from my observation, just hate Mexicans entering the country and then spreading pro-Mexican shit everywhere.

That said, these Arizona cops are clearly being racist as fuck, and it's good to see the feds doing SOMETHING useful for once.