Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio Lets Vigilante Patrols Loose To ‘Protect’ Schools

[Coyotl]

Last edited Thu Jan 10, 2013, 11:38 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: By T. Steelman = addictinginfo.org

Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio is phasing in his new “school posse” program this week, focusing on 52 schools in the county. While some parents and teachers are happy about it, many others are less than thrilled. Muddying the waters is the lack of identification of the volunteer force. Well, that, and the fact that some of them have criminal backgrounds.

The posses began to take their places on Monday, but the schools had little information about the men who are supposedly protecting their students. One principal spoke of confusion about two men in an umarked car and plain clothes patrolling around the school. Another principal said that they were told there would be men patrolling but nothing else, including whether or not each school gets its own detail.

.......

The thing that has many detractors worried most is that some of Joe’s volunteers have criminal backgrounds. A spokesman said that some of these men have “… faced disciplinary action in connection with their crimes, either avoided felony convictions or petitioned to have their records expunged, and are now moving on.” The fact that the crimes these men may have committed are not made public is troubling, considering the positions in which they are being placed. There are about 3,000 volunteers in Arpaio’s program and, though they will not be on the campus proper, the proximity and access they will have to students makes their criminal pasts worrisome to critics.

..........

The patrols will not be on the school campuses but patrolling the area in cars and, one assumes, on foot. Nobody questions their intentions, however it is disquieting that the minds of these men appear to be squarely set on using their guns to deal with any emergencies that may arise. There is a reason vigilantism is illegal. This is not the Wild West, no matter how much Sheriff Joe fantasizes that it is. With 3,000 armed men, some of whom are criminals — Joe is not being very transparent about who they are and what they did — prowling around looking for reasons to use their Joe-given authority and their guns, what could possibly go wrong?

Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/01/09/arizona-sheriff-joe-arpaio-lets-vigilante-patrols-loose-to-protect-schools/

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What the article fails to convey is that the members of Sheriff Joe's private militia are all as crazy as he is.

[sakabatou]

1. What could possibly go wrong?

[Coyotl]

4. A bunch of horny old rednecks guarding teenage girls. No problem there!

[JoePhilly]

5. A bunch of ARMED horny old rednecks guarding teenage girls. No problem there!

There, I fixed it.

[AsahinaKimi]

7. I was thinking more in the lines of this..

Punisher wanna be...

[samsingh]

2. what an incredibly stupid moron who doesn't understand basic entropy

[olegramps]

3. It appears to be a situation that could have significant abuses.

Why in the hell isn't Arpaio in jail?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

6. I wonder how many are kiddie-diddlers?

This should turn out well

[JimVukovich]

8. ARPAIO IS A VERY DANGEROUS PERSON

Let me say it again..........

ARIZONA SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO IS A VERY DANGEROUS PERSON.

MARICOPA COUNTY IS A VERY DANGEROUS PLACE TO LIVE.

Jan Brewer - John McCain - Joe Arpaio

The "Dream Team".

[PerceptionManagement]

29. Good old Joe. You can count on him to ramp up the stupid/dangerous that is popular with Tea Baggers

[jody]

9. Coyotl I understand your post but under what conditions will you accept a Governor or Sheriff using

the authority granted to them by their state's constitution and laws to use the states unorganized militia?

For example, Governor Brown of California has the following authority:

CALIFORNIA CODES
MILITARY AND VETERANS CODE
SECTION 120-130

120. The militia of the State shall consist of the National Guard,
State Military Reserve and the Naval Militia--which constitute the
active militia--and the unorganized militia.

121. The unorganized militia consists of all persons liable to
service in the militia, but not members of the National Guard, the
State Military Reserve, or the Naval Militia.

122. The militia of the State consists of all able-bodied male
citizens and all other able-bodied males who have declared their
intention to become citizens of the United States, who are between
the ages of eighteen and forty-five, and who are residents of the
State, and of such other persons as may upon their own application be
enlisted or commissioned therein pursuant to the provisions of this
division, subject, however, to such exemptions as now exist or may be
hereafter created by the laws of the United States or of this State.

123. Whenever the Governor deems it necessary, he or she may order
an enrollment to be made by officers designated by the Governor, of
all persons liable to service in the militia. The enrollment shall
include any information that the Governor may require. Three copies
thereof shall be made: one copy shall be filed in the office of the
clerk of the county in which the enrollment is made, and two copies
in the office of the Adjutant General.

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html

[Coyotl]

15. Show me where Joe's "posse" is constituted.

I'm not saying anything about the California state code. I'm commenting on what is in Joe's head, the location from whence this would-be authority to create an irregular armed group derives, it seems.

[jody]

18. Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Posses

http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ars/23/00901.htm

(g) Regular members of a volunteer sheriff's reserve, which may be established by resolution of the county board of supervisors, to assist the sheriff in the performance of the sheriff's official duties. A roster of the current members shall monthly be certified to the clerk of the board of supervisors by the sheriff and shall not exceed the maximum number authorized by the board. Certified members of an authorized volunteer sheriff's reserve shall be deemed to be employees of the county for the purpose of coverage under the Arizona workers' compensation laws and occupational disease disability laws and shall be entitled to receive the benefits of these laws for any compensable injuries or disabling conditions that arise out of and occur in the course of the performance of duties authorized and directed by the sheriff. Compensation benefits and premium payments shall be based upon the salary received by a regular full-time deputy sheriff of the county involved for the first month of regular patrol duty as an officer for each certified member of a volunteer sheriff's reserve. This subdivision shall not be construed to provide compensation coverage for any member of a sheriff's posse who is not a certified member of an authorized volunteer sheriff's reserve except as a participant in a search and rescue mission or a search and rescue training mission.

Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Posses http://www.mcso.org/About/Posse.aspx

[bongbong]

30. Now I understand the purpose of this stunt

It comes from one sentence in your quoted paragraph:

"Certified members of an authorized volunteer sheriff's reserve shall be deemed to be employees of the county for the purpose of coverage under the Arizona workers' compensation laws and occupational disease disability laws and shall be entitled to receive the benefits of these laws for any compensable injuries or disabling conditions that arise out of and occur in the course of the performance of duties authorized and directed by the sheriff"

This is nothing more than a trick to get a bunch of out-of-shape, La-Z-Boy inhabiting sacks of shit on the gov't dole.

"Hey Sheriff, I pulled a muscle on posse duty!"
"What were you doing?"
"Getting out of my recliner to report for duty!"

[santamargarita]

10. Pedophiles and felons guarding children....

how Republican can you get?

[LanternWaste]

11. Sounds like Sheriff Joe has made for himself the most...

Sounds like Sheriff Joe has made for himself the most rootinist-tootinist-shootinist Well Regulated Militia that side of the Pecos River.

I imagine everyone in his district feels quite a bit safer knowing that concerned, law-abiding (well, law-abiding in the here and now anyway) citizens looking at their children... I mean looking *out* for their children.

[Tempest]

12. He also said he doesn't care about their background or past

Pedophiles are lining up to join.

[EvilAL]

13. What in the name

of sweet fuck is going on down there? Armed citizens walking/driving around to protect schools? This will do nothing to protect the kids, nothing. Nothing will stop a fuckin nut from getting into a school and killing kids if he puts his mind to it and since they are just out there patrolling how they gonna help if someone does break into the school and start shooting?? This makes no fucking sense. Not to mention the backgound check crap and criminal records.. ugh..

[Fire Walk With Me]

14. What can possibly go wrong!

[Volaris]

16. Is there no such thing as a County Exe. or School Board President down there?

HOW can this loon just be running his own little fiefdom and nobody says anything?

[Archae]

17. Like everything else "Sheriff Joe" does...

Does absolutely nothing to help fight actual crime, but get "Sheriff Joe" lots of publicity.

[jody]

19. Many people are not familiar with their own state's Reserve, Auxiliary and Special Police Officers.

They can learn more by first visiting http://www.reservepolice.org/Links.htm and clicking on their state to learn about its volunteer forces.

Learn about part of your state's unorganized militia at the State Guard Association of the United States http://www.sgaus.org/

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. "unorganized militia"? Wouldn't they be the big problem?

I suspect the "State Guard Association of the United States" wouldn't like you calling them 'unorganized'. Isn't an unorganized militia a bunch of self-appointed out-of-control vigilantes?

[jody]

23. See 10 USC § 311 - Militia: composition and classes

(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.
(b) The classes of the militia are—
(1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and
(2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/search/display.html?terms=militia&url=/uscode/html/uscode10/usc_sec_10_00000311----000-.html

Depending on your state's own definition of militia, you could be part of its unorganized militia.

One state includes both male and female 17 to 64.

[muriel_volestrangler]

24. So the 'unorganized militia' includes all criminals of the right age

as well as men with no interest or experience in fighting, or any weapons. Seems a particularly useless definition to me.

[jody]

25. Congratulations on reading the law. Please use google to answer your latest and other questions. nt

[defacto7]

20. So if the principal and staff

of the schools do not know who the specific patrols are, or what they look like, or how to instantly identify them, how are they supposed to know who is a patrol and who is just entering the school with weapons? And when the shit hits the fan, all these guys are going to start shooting each other and everyone else.

That sheriff is a madman, a sociopath, and an idiot.

I'd get out of there if I were in that county.

[RetroGamer1971]

22. Sigh! I live in Maricopa County.

Arpiao can do no wrong here. He is a god to a lot of scared, white, old people in my state. I am glad my kiddo's school district isn't putting up with his BS at this point. Sworn SRO's would be fine. Unverified posse members armed outside of my kiddo's school is not.

[graham4anything]

26. He is a racist and we know his Paul Blart Zimmerman's will do the Zimmy on minorities

[madamesilverspurs]

27. Insanity

-

[ileus]

28. Things need to be a little more organized if

what we're reading is to be believed.

[bongbong]

31. He's an "Old School" type of sheriff

As in those guys in southern states in the 1960s that loved turning fire hoses & dogs on African-Americans.

[brooklynite]

32. Perhaps he could have the "Cold Case Posse" help out in Hawaii?