Arpaio and Mesa Chief George Gascon mixed it up real good in last Saturday’s Trib. I hope you saw the story. I had no idea that the two aren’t even trying to get along.
The sheriff sent a task force to arrest suspected illegal immigrants in Mesa and never notified the Mesa PD. He then issued a statement accusing Gascon of being soft on illegals.
Tit for tat. Gascon replied that Arpaio was jeopardizing officer safety by not sharing infomation. Then he took a shot. Arpaio he said, ”can’t keep his jails open, but yet he can arrest cooks and gardeners.”
I don’t understand people who see the world only in terms of enemies and allies. I think Arpaio is one of those people. Some of you may remember the feud between Arpaio and former Maricopa County Prosecutor Rick Romley.
At a Gilbert Days reception some years ago I watched the two of them meet and greet while rotating around the room on opposite sides. They kept their distance.
That wasn’t good for the people of Maricopa County. Neither is a feud between our my-way-or-the-highway sheriff and the police chief of the Valley’s second largest city.
A culture of hate and destruction has been created by Sheriff Arpaio. Gascon offers of voice of reason and common sense. When people lose hope and feel dehumanized (method used by the Arpaio culture) then dangerous consequences will result. We are witnessing it daily with the media coverage of more shootings of people by officers, and shooting of officers by people who would rather shoot then be sent to Arpaio’s Abu Ghriab jails and the Arizona prisons which mirror the same. Overzealous prosecution of the people with total disregard for their rights is increasing the hatred and violence. What would you expect? The society and culture here is one of destruction, which decades ago we witnessed during the Civil Rights movement — only the skin color has changed and more women have been targeted than ever before.