Pat Dollard

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Arizona Republic:

Maricopa County Supervisors Mary Rose Wilcox and Don Stapley and other community leaders today demanded that Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu send to the FBI or another law enforcement agency allegations of serious misconduct lodged against Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s chief deputy. Wilcox also said she would formally ask the U.S. Department of Justice to place the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office under federal receivership if the case was not transferred. Already, an attorney who represents the supervisors has informally suggested receivership of Arpaio’s agency if the sheriff refuses to comply with ongoing federal criminal and civil-rights investigations. Wilcox said that suggestion could soon be formalized by the Board of Supervisors.

The demands come after a top Arpaio aide authored a 63-page report that contained explosive allegations of misconduct and mismanagement by Chief Deputy David Hendershott, the sheriff’s second-in-command, and two of his high-ranking subordinates.

Those subordinates, Deputy Chief Larry Black and Capt. Joel Fox, were placed on paid administrative leave Thursday. Hendershott is out on medical leave.

Wilcox and Stapley allege that Hendershott has continued to be involved in day-to-day operations of the office, including court proceedings and budget matters. They asked Arpaio to change Hendershott’s status from medical leave to paid administrative leave pending a full investigation of the allegations against him.

As of Friday afternoon, however, personnel experts could not say whether it was legally permissible to put Hendershott on administrative leave until he returns from medical leave. He is expected to return in the next several weeks.

The Justice Department is already conducting a criminal abuse-of-power investigation of the Sheriff’s Office. Munnell’s memo was turned over to the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office for that probe.

Though the matter was turned over to Babeu, Maricopa County sheriff’s officials are treating the matter as an internal investigation and following the steps laid out in the agency’s policies regarding such investigations.

“For any official or media organization to immediately begin to criticize the way in which this investigation is being handled should speak volumes about their willingness to allow the process to work,” Arpaio said in a statement.

Arpaio gave the memo containing the allegations to Babeu earlier this week to review and determine if a broader investigation is necessary.

Babeu has said that he wants the probe to be completely transparent, and he has expressed an interest in hiring special counsel and other outside experts to assist him.

Babeu has said he will review the complaint and meet with Arpaio to brief him on the seriousness of the allegations and the direction the investigation might take.

But Wilcox said she and other community leaders do not believe Babeu, considered in political circles to be an Arpaio ally, can impartially review the allegations made in the memo authored by Deputy Chief Frank Munnell.

“We want Sheriff Babeu to send it to the Justice Department,” Wilcox told The Arizona Republic.

“This report is so damning, and we need to protect our employees. We cannot have any taint surrounding an investigation into these claims. Hendershott needs to be placed on administrative leave … so he cannot continue to communicate with county staff.”