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Joe Arpaio Requiring His Deputies To Carry AR-15s At All Times, Fight Crime Even When They're Off Duty

Arpaio Requiring His Deputies To Carry AR-15s At All Times, Fight Crime Even When They're Off Duty
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Senior Editor, Breaking News, HuffPost

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Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona announced Thursday he will start requiring his deputies to carry AR-15s at all times and expects them to use the weapons to fight crime even when they're off duty.

“While this decision may seem controversial to some in the public and among other law enforcement agencies, I have extreme confidence in the training and professionalism of the men and women deputies in the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office,” Arpaio said, according to AZ Family.

While announcing the new requirement, Arpaio noted that two of his deputies "died under violent circumstances" last year and another "was shot several times but survived."

"I want all my deputies to be armed with the greatest firepower available 24 hours a day," Arpaio said.

Jorge Vargas, a 27-year-old detention officer with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, died earlier this week after he was shot in the driveway of his home, apparently while getting ready for work. Arpaio, who is still searching for his colleague's killer, said he does not know the motive for the killing, or whether the officer was targeted, according to NBC.

"Right now the main mission is to find this guy and get him in jail," Arpaio said during a press conference on Vargas's death.

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Before You Go

DOJ Lawsuit Allegations Against Arpaio
Maricopa County Employees Call Latinos Derogatory Names(01 of06)
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Jail employees frequently refer to Latinos as "wetbacks," "Mexican bitches," and "stupid Mexicans," according to the lawsuit. An email that included a photography of a Chihahua dressed in swimming gear with the caption "A Rare Photo of a Mexican Navy Seal" was widely distributed by sheriff's office supervisors. (credit:AP)
Officers Mistreat Latinos In Routine Traffic Enforcement(02 of06)
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The lawsuit recounts how a Latina woman who was five-months pregnant and a U.S. citizen was stopped as she pulled into the 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, puled 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," reads the complaint.She was cited for failure to provide identification, which was later changed to failure to provide proof of insurance. The issue was resolved when the woman proved she had insurance to a court.In yet another case, two officers followed a Latina U.S. citizen a quarter of a mile to her home without flashing their lights. When she arrived home, they insisted that she stay in the car. The reason for the stop was a "non-functioning license plate light." After she tried to enter her home, officers took her to the ground, kneed her in the back and handcuffed her. She was brought to a Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) substation and cited for "disorderly conduct," which was later dismissed, according to the lawsuit. (credit:AP)
Latinos Are Indiscriminately Detained In Immigration Raids(03 of06)
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A Latina born in the United States was taken into custody for four hours in a raid to determine her immigration status. Arpaio was quoted in response, "That's just normal police work. You sometimes take people in for probable cause for questioning and they're released." The suit notes that the reason for her detainment -- being Latina and present during a raid -- were insufficient. (credit:AP)
Arpaio And MCSO Staff Foster Discrimination Against Latinos(04 of06)
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Arpaio received a letter reading, "If you have dark skin, then you have dark skin. Unfortunately, that is the look of the Mexican illegals who are here illegally. ... I'm begging you to come over ... and round them all up." The sheriff labeled this as "intelligence" and forwarded to his deputy chief of enforcement operations for someone to "handle this."Upon receiving a letter backing the policy of "stopping Mexicans to make sure they are legal," he sent a letter of appreciation to the authors and kept three copies for himself, according to the lawsuit.An email circulated among MCSO staff had an image of a fake driver's license from "Mexifornia" and listed the driver's class as "illegal alien." (credit:AP)
MCSO Employees Fail To Provide Assistance To Prisoners With Limited English(05 of06)
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The failure to provide adequate language assistance caused some female Latina prisoners to remain with sheets or pants soiled from menstruation, alleges the suit.Others have allegedly been put in solitary confinement for "extended periods of time" for not understanding a command in English. (credit:AP)
MCSO Arrests Arpaio Critics Expressing Their First Amendment Rights(06 of06)
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The suit claims on multiple occasions that people were arrested for merely applauding against the office's immigration policies. The judge presiding over the case of the arrestees found that the deputy who made the arrest "believes it is his role to make uncomfortable anyone who express[es] views that disagree with the sheriff" and that he had "trampled" over the First Amendment. The court acquitted them. (credit:AP)
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