Arpaio Finds Himself In Court As Civil Contempt Hearing Begins

PHOENIX — One of the most-watched racial profiling cases takes a dramatic turn Tuesday. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and four officers are facing contempt of court charges for repeatedly violating U.S. District Court Judge Murray Snow’s orders in a longstanding racial profiling lawsuit.

Snow begins overseeing a four-day civil hearing Tuesday to determine the extent of those violations, and what the appropriate sanctions should be.

In addition to Arpaio, MCSO Chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan, Deputy Chief Jack MacIntyre, Lieutenant Joseph Sousa and retired Executive Chief Brian Sands are also facing civil contempt charges.

It's no secret Arpaio did not want the civil contempt hearing to go forward. As part of an unsuccessful bid to reach a settlement and cancel the entire hearing, Arpaio and Sheridan admitted to the civil contempt allegations against them.

Those charges include ignoring Snow’s 2011 pre-trial order to stop detaining immigrants solely on the suspicion they were in the country illegally, withholding video evidence from plaintiffs before the trial, and violating Snow’s directions for how to recover video evidence from deputies.

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