Sheriff Joe's Armed School Protection "Posse" includes Convicts & Sex Offenders

[FourScore]

Thu Jan 10, 2013 at 10:31 AM PST
Sheriff Joe's Armed School Protection "Posse" includes Convicts & Sex Offenders
by Vyan

Chalk this one up in the You can't make this shit up column, but it's apparently true.

http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/Sheriffs-posse-members-to-start-patrolling-schools-this-week-185868242.html

In a somewhat controversial move, members of Sheriff Joe Arpaio's volunteer posse are slated to start patrolling some Maricopa County schools.

Some of those posse members reportedly have criminal pasts. That's where the controversy comes in.

An MCSO spokesman said those people have already faced disciplinary action in connection with their crimes, either avoided felony convictions or petitioned to have their records expunged, and are now moving on

Ok, so that's just great. Slate clean. Get your gun, head for the local school. And exactly what are we "moving on" from, just so we're all clear about this?

http://www.kpho.com/story/17159125/criminal-pasts-dont-disqualify-members-of-arpaio-posse

CBS 5 - KPHO

Arpaio wants his army of 3,000 volunteer posse members to look like sworn deputies and sometimes perform the same duties. But an in-depth project by CBS 5 Investigates uncovered a number of posse members with arrests for assault, drug possession, domestic violence, sex crimes against children, disorderly conduct, impersonating an officer - and the list goes on.

These are crimes that are not tolerated in many professions, especially professions with an implied authority.

Usually this wouldn't be tolerated for someone under the color of authority, but in Sherriff Joe's Arizona - it is.

According to the local press these civilians will be insured by the Maricopa County Sherriff's Office, which means that the County is on the financial hook for anything that they might happen to do wrong - but they aren't.

Now it's fair to point this isn't really knew, Arpaio has tried it before.

Arpaio first started using his posse to protect malls during the holiday shopping season in 1993 in response to violent incidents in prior years. Since then he said malls where his posse members are on patrol have had zero violent re-occurrences and patrols by his all-volunteer squad during the 2012 shopping season netted a record 31 arrests.

Arpaio said since the program has worked so well in malls he believes it will work just as well protecting schools.

I can understand the desire to give someone a second chance but...

This is coming from the guy who - to this very day - thinks that Obama's Birth Certificate is a Forgery and is using taxpayer money to try and prove it.

This, coming from the Sherriff who arrested a six-year-old for suspicion of being "undocumented" on the same day that the President said that Federal Policy would be lenient on "undocumented" minors.

This, coming from the Sherriff who argued that he may need to supply his deputies with automatic weapons to protect them from the heinous attempted escape of undocumented suspects.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio says, “Once again the entry into Maricopa County from Mexico by illegal aliens does not seem to have subsided by evidence of numerous arrests made by my deputies. Aside from their determination to get away we will continue to make every effort to pursue and apprehend human smugglers as well as drug traffickers. More and more illegal aliens are attempting to escape which places my deputies in dangerous positions. In the near future I will be issuing automatic weapons for all my deputies”.

But the truth is we're not really just talking about crimes and abuse from their past -- these are some examples of the what the local CBS station found have already happened with members of this "Posse".

"Don't get me wrong, I've done some things in my life that I'm not proud of," said Michael Hoopingarner who admits to being arrested for cocaine possession in 1999. "It's stuff that may not even be on paper. It's stuff that I had to disclose when I joined." ... A posse applicant "could be disqualified" if they have a felony conviction, have used illegal drugs excessively, or sport a misdemeanor narcotics conviction, according to the sheriff's office posse application. Despite Hoopingarner's disclosure, he was hired on the posse.

And then there was Jacob Cutler. According to a Flagstaff police report, Cutler threw his girlfriend to the ground and choked her while trying to sexually assault her in 2008. When she didn't cooperate, he allegedly threatened to call police and said they would side with him, because he "has a badge." He was a member of Arpaio's posse at the time.

...

Kevin Ray Campos was arrested in 2007 outside a Scottsdale club for disorderly conduct. According to the police report, he spit on several bouncers and then hurled profanities at a Scottsdale police officer. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, according to court records, and was hired as a posse member a year later.

Anyone else see a potential problem brewing here?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/01/10/1177883/-Sherriff-Joe-s-Armed-School-Protection-Posse-includes-Convicts-Sex-Offenders

[liberal N proud]

1. Your kid may not get shot but they could get molested.

Should make parents feel comfortable sending their kids to school.

Of course with that crowd, being shot is not out of the question either.

[Fresh_Start]

2. but the teachers might be shot

by misfits still holding grudges from 40 years earlier.

[HockeyMom]

3. Convicts as Firefighters

What Rick Scott called for. Would you trust your home, and your life, to a convict firefighter? Same with convicts "protecting" schools.

[pacalo]

4. It must be comforting to be a parent living in his jurisdiction, let me tell you.

[LeftInTX]

5. You mean his posse isn't his chain gang?

[alcibiades_mystery]

6. The gun nuts continue to make fools of themselves

Their descent into stupidity tells us all we need to know about whether these fuckers can be trusted with public policy, or even credible interpretations of the law and founding documents.

[niyad]

7. if I had the misfortune to live in maricopa county, and had children of school age, I would now

be homeschooling them there is no way I would allow a child of mine to be anywhere near his sick, criminal, vigilante "posse". and I would be telling the schools why my children no longer attend.

as bluntandcranky said in his blog the other day, yes, a lot of our elected officials are idiots, but 91 percent of them got re-elected last time out (this includes joe "pink underwear and bologna" arpaio, so it makes the electorate the bigger idiots.

[Ilsa]

8. Parents need to stop this. That might be the

only way to stop it. Parents shouldn't have to watch the "posse" members to make sure they don't rape or molest their children.

Parental involvement might be the only way to stop this asshole.

[kestrel91316]

10. I'm concerned that any parents who try to "get involved"

might get summarily shot by Arpaio's goons.

[Taitertots]

9. This article leaves more questions than answers

How many of them have been convicted of sex crimes with children?
How many of them have been convicted of felonies that were expunged?
How many of them have been convicted of domestic violence?

All the article does is point to a handful of people with violations for petty crimes and accusations that never panned out into convictions. What are the actual numbers?