Today is the deadline by which Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe gave Dep. Adam Stoddard to apologize for swiping documents from a defense attorney’s file in open court last month. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (who, oddly, is speaking at Arizona State University’s journalism school tonight) has vowed that Stoddard will not apologize.
Arizona freelance journalist Nick Martin broke this story, and lays out the delicously intriguing stakes:
Earlier this month, Arpaio vowed that his young officer would not abide by the ruling, saying, “Superior Court judges do not order my officers to hold press conferences.”
That same day, Liddy announced the sheriff’s office planned to ask the Arizona Court of Appeals to intervene in the case. But as of Sunday night, Liddy had not yet filed the appeal.
On Wednesday, the sheriff’s office asked Donahoe to delay the deadline for the apology so the appeal could still be filed. But so far, no delay has been granted…
Even with the Phoenix area’s unusual politics and bizarre history, the events leading up to today create a scenario unlike any the region has seen in quite some time – if ever.
For one, it sets up the possibility that Stoddard could ignore Donahoe’s order outright and force the judge to send him to jail for contempt of court. The jailing of an active member of law enforcement in Maricopa County is unprecedented in recent memory.
It also raises the question of whether Arpaio, who runs the county jails and has balked at the judge’s order, would agree to lock up one of his own men. If he refuses, Donahoe could take the extraordinary step of asking another agency to step in or else go another route entirely. It’s anybody’s guess.
I can’t think of another case where a judge has ordered someone jailed for contempt and the police department has refused to carry out the order. I’m not sure what would happen next. A duel? Arm wrestling?
Three former Chicago police officers, members of an elite drug unit, have pleaded guilty to felony theft charges and a fourth has pleaded guilty to official misconduct. The four were allegedly part of a larger group of officers who routinely invaded homes and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from suspected drug dealers.
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| Dear Tom: You can offer as much money as you like, but I wouldn't advertise police clothing in the Police Brutality (and Atrocity) Blog unless it were photographs of police officers dressed in pig pens. Francis On 24/11/2009, info@safeguardclothing.com <info@safeguardclothing.com> wrote: | |
Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio outrages are a dime a dozen. But if reported accurately, here’s one for his greatest hits file:
The most recent atrocity committed by the self-proclaimed “America’s Toughest Sheriff” involves a woman who was detained while 9-months pregnant. Alma MinervaChacon’s case has been receiving media attention due to the brutality with which she was treated. The very same night of her arrest, Chacon went into labor and found herself afraid and alone, being rushed to a local hospital with her hands and legs chained in shackles.
Once she reached the hospital, nurses repeatedly begged the Sheriff’s staff to allow them to unchain the mother, but they refused and Chacon was forced to give birth while still shackled to the bed. At one point, the nurse asked for them to release her so that she could be escorted to the bathroom for a urinalysis, but even that request was denied. But the worst came once Chacon gave birth to her baby girl.
Still chained to the bed, Arpaio’s police staff refused to allow Chacon to hold her newborn baby and then warned her that if no one came to pick up the child within 72 hours, she would be turned over into state custody.
There’s a video interview with Chacon at the link. She was apparently detained on suspicion of being in the country illegally.
MORE: The Phoenix New Times has more details. Chacon had a warrant for $1,000 in traffic fines and a misdemeanor shoplifting charge pending against her, though neither was the reason she was pulled over.
Although Tasers were used in the arrest of a 30-year-old man in East Grand Rapids on Monday night, they have not been confirmed as playing a role in his death.
The Electronic Village Web site documents 47 taser-related deaths in the U.S. in 2009. Two of them were in Michigan.
Although Tasers were used in the arrest of a 30-year-old man in East Grand Rapids on Monday night, they have not been confirmed as playing a role in his death.
The Electronic Village Web site documents 47 taser-related deaths in the U.S. in 2009. Two of them were in Michigan.
