Ex-Superintendent Sues Arpaio, Supes

PHOENIX -- Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the Maricopa Board of Supervisors are facing another lawsuit.

Former Maricopa County School Superintendent Sandra Dowling filed a civil suit in Maricopa Superior Court Wednesday.

The lawsuit accuses the sheriff and supervisors of negligence, malicious prosecution, abuse of process and constitutional violations.

The suit stems from a Jan. 25, 2006, sheriff’s raid at Dowling’s Litchfield Park home that led to criminal charges against her.

"They ransacked my house. They had 30, 40 SWAT team members standing on my front lawn. They had helicopters flying over the house,” Dowling said. "It literally looked like a circus."

Dowling said the sheriff lied to a judge about evidence to obtain the search warrant for her home.

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Deputy Chief Jack MacIntyre wrote,

"The Sheriff’s Office investigated Ms. Dowling and presented the facts and evidence against her to a competent prosecutorial agency. She was indicted by the Arizona Attorney General after he presented the facts to a grand jury. Dowling ultimately (pleaded) guilty to one of the criminal charges and was placed on probation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office eventually entered into a plea bargain with Ms. Dowling which resolved this case -- all of which shows how baseless her claims are.”

Dowling plead guilty to a misdemeanor for giving her daughter a summer job.
http://www.kpho.com/politics/19652647/detail.html

I wonder what that cost!


Edit: I wonder how much damage is covered by the verb "ransacked"?

He's a fucking disgrace.