APNewsbreak: Arpaio aides ignored order to halt sweeps

PHOENIX (AP) — Documents obtained by The Associated Press show a court-appointed investigator concluded that high-ranking managers for former metro Phoenix Sheriff Joe Arpaio disregarded a federal judge’s order to halt immigration sweeps targeting Latinos.

The investigator also found an internal investigation was whitewashed to shield them from accountability.

The investigator’s reports about alleged misconduct in the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office cover a period from late 2011 through 2016. Arpaio lost his post in 2016 but is running again in the 2020 Republican primary.

The sheriff’s officials criticized by the investigator include Jerry Sheridan. He was Arpaio’s second-in command and is running against Arpaio in the primary.

The investigator was hired by the federal judge to re-examine misconduct investigations after the judge criticized some as tainted by biased decision-making that protected some officials.

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Follow Jacques Billeaud at twitter.com/jacquesbilleaud.