Arpaio’s justice wasn’t color blind

Fred Vanderhoof’s letter of Sept. 24 praising former Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s virtues was written with blinders.

Our daughter was married to a Hispanic man and they lived several years in the Phoenix area. Our former son-in-law would be stopped in his car by a deputy who wanted to see identification, where he worked and other personal information. The only reason that he was stopped was the color of his skin. He is a citizen and was always gainfully employed.

Arpaio’s orders to his deputies to carry out this type of action landed Maricopa County in federal court on obvious discrimination charges, and ultimately cost the county several million dollars in fines. It is sad that the Fresno County Republican Party could not find a different person to address their group.

This story was originally published September 27, 2017 at 6:25 PM with the headline "Arpaio’s justice wasn’t color blind."