Investigative reporters Terry Greene Sterling and Jude Joffe-Block, both with Arizona ties, have penned a new book on the downfall of notorious Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio titled "Driving While Brown: Sheriff Joe Arpaio Versus the Latino Resistance."
In a review for the book, Axios explores the history of Arpaio's Italian immigrant family and how he became one of the loudest opponents of immigration. After working for the DEA, Arpaio became the county sheriff from 1993 to 2016, being defeated after a concerted effort to register Latinos in the county and get them to the polls.
While serving as sheriff, Arpaio cost Maricopa County millions in lawsuits and that number continues to grow today, with a suit over racial profiling that is expected to cost the county over $200 million, reported the Associated Press this week.
"Don't forget: Taxpayers are still paying to settle a racial-profiling lawsuit from Arpaio's immigration patrols in metro Phoenix a decade ago," wrote Axios.
Jailing his political enemies and harassing those who opposed him (including reporters), Arpaio ultimately found himself on the other side of the law. He was found guilty of criminal contempt in 2017 after he refused to obey a federal judge's order to stop racially profiling people he thought were "illegal" because they were Latino. It was a lawsuit that many compared to Alabama lawman Bull Connor, who found new ways of attacking people of color to try and stop the Civil Rights movement.
But when Arpaio gained notoriety was when he hooked up with Donald Trump, who was determined to find evidence that former President Barack Obama wasn't an American citizen and born in Kenya. It never happened but endeared him to Trump, who delivered a pardon to the lawbreaker. Arpaio ran for sheriff again in 2020 and then lost in disgrace during the GOP primary.
Today, Arpaio is selling himself for $19.99 offering autographed photos of himself. He's also selling greetings and messages. But the most shocking is he's taking credit for a "Chopped" chef he said learned how to cook in his "tent city."
