The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has yet to finish court-ordered reforms tied to a long running racial profiling case.
Now a House Judiciary subcommittee led by Republican Congressman Andy Biggs has scheduled a Friday field hearing so officials can complain about the cost.
The Sheriff’s Office has spent about 14 years working to end racial profiling of Latino motorists, and reform internal affairs while under watch by a monitor.
In scheduling Friday’s hearing, titled "The Monitoring Racket: The Grift that Keeps on Giving," the House Judiciary subcommittee cites a cost figure used by county supervisors to call for an end to sheriff’s office oversight.
Among them is Supervisor Debbie Lesko, who spoke Jan. 30, after the most recent court hearing.
“We believe in those numbers. And the judge implies that they’re wrong,” Lesko said
An independent audit of compliance costs released last fall found that nearly 75% of what the Sheriff’s Office had billed the county for was improperly attributed.
The Justice Department has joined Maricopa County supervisors and the Goldwater Institute in calling for an end to independent oversight of the Sheriff’s Office.
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