US Dept. of Justice Sues Arizona Sheriff For ‘Race Profiling’

The US Department of Justice has sued Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona, the self-styled "toughest sherriff in the US," who became prominent after he forced prisoners to wear pink underwear, for ‘racially profiling Latinos, among other alleged civil rights violations, BBC said.

The justice department released a ‘scathing report’ accusing Arpaio’s office of multiple offenses, including punishing Hispanic jail inmates for speaking Spanish, a sheriff officer stopping a pregnant Latino woman as she pulled into her driveway and insisted she sit on the hood of her car, and child abuse allegations.

But Arpaio denied the allegations saying the justice department’s demand would nullify his authority "I am not going to surrender my office to the federal government. I will fight this to the bitter end," as he appeared ‘visibly angry’ at a Thursday press conference.

He said on the eve of the lawsuit, "They're telling me how to run my organisation."

Assistant US Attorney General Thomas Perez told the news conference "We have invariably been able to work collaboratively with law enforcement agencies to build better departments and safer communities," but the Sheriff Arpaio’s office had been "a glaring exception."

US officials wanted Arpaio to agree to train his officers in how to perform their duties.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18025066