By Jacques Billeaud, Associated Press, August 5, 2011
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Thursday (August 4, 2011) that federal officials who have been investigating racial profiling allegations against his office for more than two years have not informed him of any constitutional violations by his deputies.
The sheriff of Maricopa County, known for his immigration patrols and tough jail policies, said the Justice Department would have to take action to stop racial profiling if investigators had found violations.
"I am tired of this situation in the media, around the country and the world, talking about I'm under investigation for alleged racial profiling," the frustrated Arpaio said about the length of the investigation and the bad publicity.
"Let's get it over with and be fair and go public and say the sheriff is doing a good job on this matter," he said.
The Justice Department probe began in March 2009 amid allegations of discrimination, unconstitutional searches and seizures, and for having an English-only policy in his jails that discriminates against people with limited English skills.
Federal lawyers have provided few details of the probe, but Arpaio has said it is focused on his immigration sweeps.
During the patrols, deputies flood an area of a city-in some cases, heavily Latino areas-over several days to seek traffic violators and arrest others.
Critics say Arpaio's deputies target people for minor infractions based on their skin color so they can ask for proof of citizenship. Arpaio has repeatedly denied racial profiling allegations and said his officers handled the traffic stops properly.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Arpaio last year in a bid to get records and access to sheriff's employees and jail inmates as part of the civil rights investigation.
The lawsuit was dismissed Monday after Arpaio's office and the Justice Department reached an earlier settlement. The Department of Justice said the sheriff's office had cooperated since the lawsuit was filed by handing over records and giving access to employees and jails.
The federal agency released a written statement Thursday saying its investigation is continuing and Arpaio's office is cooperating.
Lydia Guzman, a board member of the Phoenix-based Hispanic civil rights group Somos America, said Arpaio is to blame for the length of the investigation because his earlier refusal to cooperate with investigators slowed the examination.
"If it was true that there was nothing on him, then why would he be afraid to turn over information?" Guzman said.
Arpaio doesn't expect the civil rights investigation to be resolved until after his 2012 re-election campaign.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
Ahwatukee Private Eye Focuses on Elder-Abuse Cases
by Cathryn Creno, Jul. 27, 2011, The Arizona Republic
Jacob Mueller quickly tired of his early retirement from police work.
In 2004, he left the Oxnard Police Department in California with enough benefits to provide a nice life in Prescott. But a retiree's life was not enough to occupy someone who once thrived on participating in car chases and underwater rescues and arresting gang members.
"I found myself slipping," Mueller said. "I needed something more challenging to do."
He opened a private investigations firm, but Mueller didn't find adultery investigations and other divorce-related work interesting.
"I sat in cars taking pictures of cheating spouses and people collecting alimony who said they weren't working but really were," he said. "I felt like there was something missing."
Through networking online, Mueller was hired by relatives of an elderly, disabled Prescott Valley resident to determine whether an employee hired to care for the person was stealing.
It turned out the family's suspicions were correct, and Mueller had found his niche.
"Families should not trust a $20 Internet background check when it comes to checking the backgrounds of the people caring for their loved ones," he said. "There really is no national criminal background check" that can be conducted for a few dollars online.
Mueller has since moved to Ahwatukee and turned the focus of his company, Global Eye Investigations, to investigating abuse, neglect and financial exploitation of the elderly.
He pointed out that such crimes don't just happen to older people who are isolated and unknown.
Mueller said he was particularly troubled earlier this year when, at age 90, legendary actor Mickey Rooney testified before a Senate committee about being the victim of abuse and exploitation by a family member.
"Elder abuse is a lot more hidden than you would think," he said. "The percentage of cases that are ever reported are very low compared with what is going on out there."
Last year, Arizona's Adult Protective Services investigated 6,488 reports of "vulnerable adult" mistreatment, and most of the reports were made by health or social-service workers, according to a report by the state Department of Economic Security.
Dana Young, owner of the Discovery Detective Group in Scottsdale and vice president of the Arizona Association of Private Investigators, said many private investigators, including those in her own group, take on elder-abuse cases. Three to 5 percent of the cases her company investigates annually are elder-abuse cases, she said.
But Young said it's rare for a company to specialize in elder-abuse cases.
"A lot of people don't have the money to hire private investigators," Young said.
All the more reason for elder abuse to be his specialty, said Mueller, who also said he is available to conduct no-cost workshops on recognizing and reporting abuse of the elderly.
In one recent case in Mesa, he said, a care-home owner became suspicious of the behavior of a worker. Mueller ran a background check and told the owner that the employee had served a five-year prison term for selling cocaine - something that was not disclosed on the job application.
He also said he recently looked into allegations of toxic mold and neglect of patients in a West Valley care home.
"I can't guarantee what I am going to find, but I guarantee people will sleep a little better having the information they are seeking," he said.
Jacob Mueller quickly tired of his early retirement from police work.
In 2004, he left the Oxnard Police Department in California with enough benefits to provide a nice life in Prescott. But a retiree's life was not enough to occupy someone who once thrived on participating in car chases and underwater rescues and arresting gang members.
"I found myself slipping," Mueller said. "I needed something more challenging to do."
He opened a private investigations firm, but Mueller didn't find adultery investigations and other divorce-related work interesting.
"I sat in cars taking pictures of cheating spouses and people collecting alimony who said they weren't working but really were," he said. "I felt like there was something missing."
Through networking online, Mueller was hired by relatives of an elderly, disabled Prescott Valley resident to determine whether an employee hired to care for the person was stealing.
It turned out the family's suspicions were correct, and Mueller had found his niche.
"Families should not trust a $20 Internet background check when it comes to checking the backgrounds of the people caring for their loved ones," he said. "There really is no national criminal background check" that can be conducted for a few dollars online.
Mueller has since moved to Ahwatukee and turned the focus of his company, Global Eye Investigations, to investigating abuse, neglect and financial exploitation of the elderly.
He pointed out that such crimes don't just happen to older people who are isolated and unknown.
Mueller said he was particularly troubled earlier this year when, at age 90, legendary actor Mickey Rooney testified before a Senate committee about being the victim of abuse and exploitation by a family member.
"Elder abuse is a lot more hidden than you would think," he said. "The percentage of cases that are ever reported are very low compared with what is going on out there."
Last year, Arizona's Adult Protective Services investigated 6,488 reports of "vulnerable adult" mistreatment, and most of the reports were made by health or social-service workers, according to a report by the state Department of Economic Security.
Dana Young, owner of the Discovery Detective Group in Scottsdale and vice president of the Arizona Association of Private Investigators, said many private investigators, including those in her own group, take on elder-abuse cases. Three to 5 percent of the cases her company investigates annually are elder-abuse cases, she said.
But Young said it's rare for a company to specialize in elder-abuse cases.
"A lot of people don't have the money to hire private investigators," Young said.
All the more reason for elder abuse to be his specialty, said Mueller, who also said he is available to conduct no-cost workshops on recognizing and reporting abuse of the elderly.
In one recent case in Mesa, he said, a care-home owner became suspicious of the behavior of a worker. Mueller ran a background check and told the owner that the employee had served a five-year prison term for selling cocaine - something that was not disclosed on the job application.
He also said he recently looked into allegations of toxic mold and neglect of patients in a West Valley care home.
"I can't guarantee what I am going to find, but I guarantee people will sleep a little better having the information they are seeking," he said.
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