Leave me alone...I want to be the sheriff!
Sheriff Joe Arpaio spoke to our group this morning. He
began with a brief history of his career. At one point he
went to work for his wife. In 1992, at 60-years of age, he
decided to run for sheriff.
He works long hours but his wife of over 50 years is very
supportive.
He made
three promises when he ran.
1. Put up tents.
2. Build up the volunteer posse.
3. Get tough against crime.
It is an elected position. He believes he won because
of his law enforcement background. He takes his job
seriously. He works hard. He is committed. He
has no plans to leave and become governor. He wants to be
the sheriff. It isn't easy. "Everybody sues me. I go to the
bathroom and they sue me!"
Put them under the stars, not behind the bars!
When I took office I wanted to put those tents up because I
made the promise. But nobody would help me. I went
to Mexico and got some tents because I liked their smell.
I put the tents up next to the dump. Why pay for land when
you have land? They have been there 15 years. I have
been here 15 years. I must be doing something right.
I tried to be nice guy. I put in swamp coolers but they
destroyed them.
I do plan on putting up more tents...just for spite. I
will probably need a celebrity tent. We have a tougher DUI
law that we are going to enforce. Mike Tyson got his own
tent. I've had ball players. Glen Campbell was nice
when he stayed. He even performed a concert for the other
inmates.
I put up an electric fence over a year ago after a couple of
escapes. We have had well over a million people come
through the jail. When someone is arrested they come to me
first.
The sheriff doesn't just run jails. I also go after
murderers. I'm a law enforcer. If others don't do
their job, I do it for them.
Everybody complained about the pink underwear. Now it
is everywhere. We market it. You see them
hanging in pubs in New England. I even sent some to the
President. They sell for $10 and all money goes to support
the posse. It has been so successful, I can form
another posse. I might even form a small business posse.
I always go to the inmates to see what they think about
something before I do it. If they hate it, I know its a
great idea and I do it. I might have to get rid of the
green bologna. It is starting to cost too much.
I decided a couple of years ago to enforce the immigration
law before it became a big deal. And I decided to go after
both the smuggler and the co-conspirator. Now we are
enforcing the federal law. I am not going to just walk up
to someone and ask if they are illegal. I have to have
probable cause. If he spills his coffee then I have
probable cause! I will enforce employer sanctions.
My officers don't learn Spanish so they can communicate with
the inmates. The inmates learn English. The first
phrase they learn is "God bless America".
If you want to see everyone arrested today visit
http://www.mcso.org/
Don't believe everything you hear me say. I have to
stay fascinating!
