Sheriff Arpaio Sending Armed Posse To Protect Schools

[Purveyor]

PHOENIX -- Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Thursday that he plans to deploy his armed volunteer posse to protect Valley schools from the kind of violence that happened in the Connecticut shooting tragedy. Arpaio believes having armed law officers around schools will deter would-be criminals from trying anything violent and, possibly, stop them if they do.

“I have the authority to mobilize private citizens and fight crime in this county,” Arpaio said.

Arpaio first started using his posse to protect malls during the holiday shopping season in 1993 in response to violent incidents in prior years. Since then he said malls where his posse members are on patrol have had zero violent re-occurrences and patrols by his all-volunteer squad during the 2012 shopping season netted a record 31 arrests.

Arpaio said since the program has worked so well in malls he believes it will work just as well protecting schools.

“We're not talking about placing the posse in the schools right now but in the outlying -- the perimeters of the school -- to detect any criminal activity.”

MORE...

http://www.azfamily.com/news/Sheriff-Arpaio-is-sending-posse-to-protect-schools-185012341.html

[Laurian]

1. Damn, I wish that old fool would shrivel up and blow away.

I would be so happy never to hear his name again.

[leftlibdem420]

2. A shame he wasn't in the towers 11 years ago..

America would be a better place.

[sarisataka]

4. REALLY??????????????????????????????????

[Coyotl]

3. The Arpaio posse is a bunch of radical right-wing nutjob volunteers, not law officers!

They don't even qualify as a militia, but they are well-armed.

[dixiegrrrrl]

5. “We're not talking about placing the posse in the schools right now.....

Right now????

He does this, and you KNOW they will be searching kids for drugs in a nano second.

So, armed guards at malls and schools...nothing spreads a message of fear better.

Wonder who he is REALLY working for?

[pinboy3niner]

13. PLUS, they can check the kids' papers. It's win-win!

[broiles]

6. Can George Zimmerman volunteer?

[Politicalboi]

7. If I had a kid

I would NOT want them guarded by Arpaio's gang. Those are the kind of people who we have to worry about with guns. What happens if one of these goons see a group of Hispanic children approaching. Does he go into "border" mode?

[Wellstone ruled]

8. Keep it up Joe,

the more hate you foment,the sooner Arizona turns Blue. These assholes don't get it,they have awaken the sleeping giant and their days are numbered.

[Historic NY]

9. Wait until they find out they aren't getting paid to hang out 8hrs a day...

5 days a week

[Lizzie Poppet]

10. What could possibly go wrong?

[kiranon]

17. Need to do a background/fingerprint check on every one of them

and check with data bases for pedophiles. Liability will be huge if something goes wrong for any reason. Posses are not the answer.

[OneMoreDemocrat]

11. Unfortunately, though I don't agree with armed folks in or around schools...

I doubt very much that anyone who wanted to do a 'copy cat' type shooting will have much success in Maricopa County.

Though this sort of thing is untenable for the entire nation, it would be pretty hard to refute that this will be a deterrent to a violent episode where these 'posses' are camped out.

[spanone]

12. there's your armed 'militia'

[jody]

14. Arpaio is using authority under Arizona law, "26-121. Composition of militia; persons exempt"

The militia of the state of Arizona consists of all able bodied citizens of the state between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years and all residents of the state between such ages who have declared their intention to become citizens of the United States, except:

http://www.azleg.state.az.us/ArizonaRevisedStatutes.asp?Title=26

[Initech]

15. File this under "things that will not end well."

[EC]

16. Oh, this is not going to turn out well.... n/t

[Panasonic]

18. Okay. Arizona State Police should be arresting these fake-ass posse

and Arapaio himself.

And thrown into his own Maricopa County Jail, with nothing but pink underwear in Tent City.