The country’s “toughest sheriff” has had his gold star revoked. A scathing U.S. Justice Department report released Thursday found that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s office carried out a blatant pattern of discrimination against Latinos and held a “systematic disregard” for the Constitution amid a series of immigration crackdowns that have turned the lawman into a prominent national political figure. After the report was released, Department of Homeland Security head Janet Napolitano announced she would be severing ties with Arpaio, and stripping his officers from the federal power to check the status of inmates, effectively cutting them off from working within the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
Paul Atkinson is a reporter for KZZ in Tempe, Arizona who has been covering the story.
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