A well attended rally to protest the appearance of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio at a campaign fundraiser for Sheriff-candidate Bill Hunt at the Phoenix Club in Anaheim was met by a peaceful crowd of over 75. In turn, the crowd was was met by 2 officers from the Department of Justice (DOJ), about eight Anaheim police officers, and security staff from the Phoenix Club. The event was covered by Telemundo (KVEA 52), Univision (KMEX 34), and KSDX 29 from San Diego.
The group gathered near the driveway of the Phoenix Club, a club founded by German ex-patriates after World War II, waved signs and played music while speakers took turns asking why Arpaio is in Orange County to campaign for Bill Hunt. At the perimeter of the group were Anaheim police and members of the Department of Justice Community Relations Service, wearing hats and jackets prominently displaying the DOJ logo. One of the DOJ officers explained they were they because this is a racial issue and it's their job to help keep the peace in conjunction with other police authorities. Several members of the rally remarked that this is the first time DOJ staff had been seen at any rallies in Orange County, including campaign, labor, health care, and anti-war rallies.
Sheriff Arpaio is a regular on the Southern Poverty Law Center site with stories about his nativist views and actions. Arpaio is a strong supporter of 287(g) agreements which allow local law enforcement to enforce immigration laws. Hunt has stated that Arpaio is a mentor of his and that he hopes to be as tough as Arpaio when he is Orange County Sheriff.
In 2008, the East Valley Tribune in Arizona did a Pulitzer Prize winning five part expose of the problems caused by Arpaio's anti-immigrant stance. The investigation found that response times for emergency calls increased, potentially putting the callers in dangerous situations. The arrest rate for non-immigration related crimes, which should be the bulk of the public safety work of a police department, decreased while overtime costs increased. The relentless chase of immigrants meant that the regular, daily work of public safety to build safe communities was ignored.
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