Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Meeting – 1/25/2012
Citizen comment presented by Kelly Townsend, co-founder of the Greater Phoenix Tea Party
“Chairman, members of the Board, good morning. My name is Kelly Townsend and I am the co-founder of the Greater Phoenix Tea Party. Today I would like to address the board concerning three main accusations against Sheriff Joe Arpaio. These are being used as justification for a call for resignation and defunding of his program. I would like to establish, however, that this is purely political maneuvering to remove the man that stands in the way of open and unrestricted entrance into this country.
The accusations that I would like to look at are the 432 mishandled sex crimes, the recent death of an inmate, and the Department of Justice’s accusations against our Sheriff.
It has been spread far and wide that there have been 432 mishandled sex cases under the Maricopa County Sheriff Office. The news reports this as a shocking number and proof that MCSO is negligent.
If it is a consensus that 432 (over a 3-year period ending in 2007) is above and beyond the acceptable limit, then I would like you to take a moment and consider the news article from MyFoxPhoenix.com on Sept 27, 2011, that reported there were "2,500 mishandled sex crimes in the City of Phoenix alone." That is 84% more mishandled sex crimes, yet it has not been mentioned by Mr. Parraz’s group. Why? Perhaps because it is inconvenient to point out the failings of a Democrat Mayor?
How does this compare to the rest of the country? ABC reports, “A review of police files has revealed 2,000 reported sex crimes went uninvestigated during a three-year period, prompting Philadelphia’s police department to change the way it approaches crime complaints by women.”
A headline in The Chicago Tribune last month reads, “In Cook County, campus sex-assault suspects rarely prosecuted.” This is President Obama’s home County. Why isn’t Mr. Parraz moving to Chicago to help with this unbelievable shame to our country?
The Department of Justice is investigating New Orleans for uninvestigated crimes.
My point? Before you condemn Sheriff Arpaio for 432 uninvestigated sex crimes in all of Maricopa County, first take care to notice the thousands of mishandled cases in your own neighborhood. Compared to those, Sheriff Joe’s ability to tackle the problems here seem much smaller.
(Gilbert Watch Note: Ms. Townsend’s 2 minutes were up, and she could not finish her presentation, which addressed the recent death of an inmate, and the Department of Justice’s refusal to provide evidence supporting their accusations against Sheriff Arpaio.)
References:
Ignored Rape Claims Revisited
"A review of police files has revealed 2,000 reported sex crimes went uninvestigated during a three-year period, prompting Philadelphia’s police department to change the way it approaches crime complaints by women."
Phoenix Police: Child Crimes Cases May Have Been Mishandled
MyFoxPhoenix.com, on Sept 27, 2011 reported that the city of Phoenix had 2500 mishandled sex crimes, under a Democrat Mayor.
In Cook County, Campus Sex-Assault Suspects Rarely Prosecuted."
Victim advocates often view the downgrading of sex offenses to misdemeanor cases as an insult to the victim and the horrific nature of the crime. A battery charge may be easier to prosecute, they say, but it ultimately masks the prevalence of sexual assault in society.
New Orleans Rape-Kit Backlog will be Tested by Start of 2012, Police Say."
New Orleans police officials said Wednesday more than 800 untested rape kits will be tested by the beginning of next year, clearing up a backlog that includes physical evidence from sexual assaults dating to the late 1980s. (Uninvestigated since the 1980’s????)