Lawyers for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio say they will appeal a federal court’s monitoring order.
The order is the result of a six-year legal battle over discriminatory practices in the sheriff’s office. The civil suit accusing the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office of racial profiling was filed in 2007, after a deputy stopped a day laborer.
A federal judge ruled the department’s tactics were discriminatory, and the court last month ordered a court-appointed monitor to review MCSO practices.
The monitor is to oversee the re-training of deputies, creation of a community advisory board and installation of audio and video recording devices in patrol cars.
Arpaio has strongly opposed both a monitor and the community advisory board and in a motion this week, lawyers say they will appeal.
The judge stepped in after the sheriff’s office and attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union, representing several of the plaintiffs, were unable to reach an agreement on how to end discriminatory practices.