Group demands Feds investigate Sheriff Joe Arpaio

America’s Voice, a group that favors comprehensive and humanitarian immigration reform, released a new Web video this week slamming infamous Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

The video calls on the Justice Department to investigate Arpaio for what it describes as habitual racial profiling and a systematic failure to address real crime problems in his jurisdiction. According to America’s Voice, while Arpaio seems obsessed with catching immigrants he supposes to be in the country illegally, some 40,000 felony warrants remain outstanding in his jurisdiction.

An Arizona Republic study published in November also revealed that Arpaio’s office specifically targeted Latinos for arrest after minor traffic violations and during anti-immigrant round-ups.

‘Rather than focusing on crime and criminals, Arpaio has made anyone with brown skin a potential target for arrest,’ Paco Fabián, spokesperson for America’s Voice, noted in a press statement.

Earlier this week, members of Maricopa Citizens for Safety and Accountability, a group concerned about Arpaio’s record, held a protest outside the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors meeting to hold Arpaio accountable for his actions. Several protesters were arrested.

At least 2,700 lawsuits for violations of civil rights have been filed against Arpaio.

“I thought the days of the OK Corral and Tombstone were over,” said Fabián. “But it looks like Sheriff Joe didn’t get the memo. His tactics are terrorizing communities in Maricopa County, and everyone suffers as a result.’

Arpaio is set to host a new ‘reality’ show on FOX.

The notorious sheriff’s actions ‘may be a great way to get the attention of TV producers and your own reality show, but it’s certainly no way to tackle a local community’s problems,” Fabián concluded.

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, whose city is located in Maricopa County, along with several Arizona state legislators have endorsed the call for a federal investigation into Arpaio’s actions.

America’s Voice is also hosting in support of their call for a federal investigation into Arpaio’s actions.

See the America’s Voice video here: