Sheriff's report dismisses profiling

by JJ Hensley - Jul. 30, 2008 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office apparently looked into and dismissed racial-profiling allegations from an employee in Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon's office months before the incident mushroomed into a political spat and a federal lawsuit.

According to a report released by the Sheriff's Office Tuesday afternoon, supervisors concluded that a deputy broke no department policies and did not racially profile David and Jessica Rodriguez during a traffic stop near Bartlett Lake. David, whose wife works for Gordon, was issued a $120 citation when he drove around a "road closed" sign after heavy rains had washed out the roads in the area.

The report effectively ended the department's internal investigation into Gordon's accusations that Sheriff Joe Arpaio's deputies were unlawfully targeting Hispanic residents.