PHOENIX (AP) – Critics have accused metro Phoenix Sheriff Joe Arpaio of being a publicity-driven bully who treated powerless people harshly because it was popular with voters.
His supporters counter that he’s a standup guy who did what the public wanted and was the only local police official in Arizona to move against illegal immigration.
Sunday marked the end of Arpaio’s 24-year tenure as the top law enforcer in the region.
Along with the immigration crackdowns, his legacy includes housing jail inmates in tents, dressing them in pink underwear and making them work on chain gangs – tactics that kept him popular among voters who believed jail wasn’t supposed to be easy on criminals.
Now, Arpaio is leaving office after being charged with a crime himself – misdemeanor contempt-of-court for prolonging his immigration patrols against the orders of a federal judge.
The 84-year-old Arpaio has acknowledged the contempt violation but says it wasn’t intentional.
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