Sheriff sees conspiracy in calls for federal investigation

Sheriff Joe Arpaio says he sees "a little conspiracy" in the calls for a federal investigation of his crime suppression efforts.

Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, Latino lawmakers in the Arizona legislature, Hispanic activists' groups and Phoenix attorney Michael Manning are among those who have called in recent weeks for the Department of Justice and FBI to investigate Arpaio's tactics for possible civil rights violations and racial profiling.

Arpaio, appearing on the Jay Lawrence Show on News/Talk 92-3 KTAR Sunday, said the complaints are unfounded.

``We don't go around knocking doors in because someone calls or says, `My neighbor next door has five people, they look like they're from Mexico.' We investigate everyone, just like we do for drugs or any other type of criminal activity," Arpaio said.

He said there is no racial profiling.

``I have compassion for the Mexican people," Arpaio said. ``I had to make a decision. Do I enforce the new laws or do I not and do like everybody else -- just dump them or give them to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement? And so I decided to enforce the law."

Arpaio has come under fire for sending large numbers of deputies and posse members into areas of Phoenix where day laborers gather and into the predominantly-Hispanic town of Guadalupe on the Phoenix-Tempe border. The sheriff said he is looking for all kinds of criminals; critics said he is targeting illegal immigrants.