MCSO deputies honor Mother’s Day with Valley deadbeat dad roundup
May 10, 2015, 1:05 PM | Updated: 1:34 pm
PHOENIX — Sheriff’s deputies along with four volunteer posse members scoured Maricopa County on Saturday to find deadbeat dads — those who have fled from their court-ordered responsibility to financially support their families.
Saturday’s operation marked the 20th year of such roundups ordered by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Joe Arpaio began these deadbeat roundups in 1995, and they have taken place on holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Father’s Day and Mother’s Day.
“While we are doing this in honor on Mother’s Day, we are seeking all absconders — both male and female — who have continuously shirked their financial responsibilities to the family units they created,” said Arpaio in a press release.
The Mother’s Day warrant detail began Saturday morning.
The entire operation is working out of the Park Central Mall parking lot located at Central Avenue, south of Osborn. According to Arpaio, the teams launched from that location and all arrestees are being brought back there for booking and subsequent transfer to the Fourth Avenue Jail.
On Sunday, according to KTVK-TV, the county unit had rounded up a total of 12 men and two women. Deputies said they didn’t find everyone they were looking for, but they still called the day a success.