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US sheriff faces hearing in profiling case

Tuesday, 21 April 2015 9:52 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 21 April 2015 9:53 AM ]

Joe Arpaio's hearing might bring him fines, damage to his credibility and make him politically vulnerable.

A US sheriff has begun a four-day hearing after it was acknowledged that he had violated a judge's orders in a racial profiling case.

The hearing is the boldest effort to hold a defiant sheriff personally responsible for his lawbreaking actions.

The hearing of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio began on Tuesday which might bring him fines, cause damage to his credibility and make him politically vulnerable.

The sheriff has admitted failure to abide by the judge's pretrial order which forbade his immigration enforcement patrols.

Arpaio has also acknowledged he was responsible for his agency's failure to turn over traffic-stop videos in the profiling case. He accepted there was a plot to gather such recordings from officers once some videos were found.

In addition to Arpaio, his second-in-command, Jerry Sheridan, has also admitted he had violated the order and accepted responsibility for what has been done against the law.

Rank-and-file officers, who were not aware of the injunction, violated the order for about 18 months.

US District Judge Murray Snow will make the final decision as to whether Arpaio and four aides must be held in contempt for violating a judge’s orders.

Snow said the $100,000 donation proposed by Arpaio and Sheridan can be considered as an adequate personal financial penalty but that does not mean the hearing can be called off as the offer cannot resolve the contempt case.

"This is a man who has flouted the law so notoriously over 20 years, and yet he appears to be unscathed, although we taxpayers have paid a price for it," said Michael Manning, an attorney who has won more than $20 million in damages in lawsuits over deaths at Arpaio's jails.

AT/AGB

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