Arpaio Requiring His Deputies To Carry AR-15s At All Times, Fight Crime Even When They're Off Duty

[Tx4obama]

Arpaio Requiring His Deputies To Carry AR-15s At All Times, Fight Crime Even When They're Off Duty

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona announced Thursday he will start requiring his deputies to carry AR-15s at all times and expects them to use the weapons to fight crime even when they're off duty.

“While this decision may seem controversial to some in the public and among other law enforcement agencies, I have extreme confidence in the training and professionalism of the men and women deputies in the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office,” Arpaio said, according to AZ Family.

While announcing the new requirement, Arpaio noted that two of his deputies "died under violent circumstances" last year and another "was shot several times but survived."

"I want all my deputies to be armed with the greatest firepower available 24 hours a day," Arpaio said.

-snip-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/09/joe-arpaio-ar-15s_n_3731487.html

Maricopa County PLEASE STOP voting for this guy!

[tanyev]

1. That should go well.

[leveymg]

2. Even passed out drunk in the shower, ready to hunt down those wetbacks, 24/7/365. VVVVV

[AZ Mike]

3. Wonderful.

I remember visiting Mexico as a kid - the city of Agua Prieta, which is right across the border from the very SE corner of AZ. It was extremely common to see the federales walking along, sometimes in formation, with big rifles slung over their shoulders. Perhaps they were AR-15s or AK-47s; I really don't know - I was a kid. Good to see that immigrants are unwelcome, but the police state is.

Yay, AZ!

:|

[msongs]

4. since they will correctly be preceived as a threat, citizens can stand their ground against them nt

[el scorcho]

5. Incorrect

2 things happened this week in Arpaioland:

1. Arpaio scored a bunch of new AR-15's for his department and made a media event of handing them out to various officers. The man is a media whore like none other.

2. Arpaio required all deputies to be armed even when off duty. This does not mean they carry AR-15's off duty. They would be carrying sidearms (which most of them do now anyway).

I'm no fan of Sheriff Joe but the HuffPo article is just incorrect.

[blkmusclmachine]

6. Maricopa County PLEASE STOP voting for this guy!

+1000

[awoke_in_2003]

7. It is normal for most police departments...

to require off duty cops to carry. But AR15s? That is plain nuts.

[tumtum]

8. They're not going to actually carry them off duty,

those rifles are assigned to them, they take them home with them, but they won't be carrying them off duty when they go grocery shopping, take their kids to the park, go to a movie, etc.
They'll probably carry their sidearm off duty, as do most cops in the nation.
Huffpo is full of shit with that article.

I'm friends with several Maricopa County Deputies, this is what they've told me.