Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona will fully cooperate with the Justice Department in its investigation into allegations that his office discriminated against minorities in its police and jail operations, the DOJ announced Thursday.
Arpaio previously had refused to hand over documents requested by the DOJ as part of its probe into alleged unconstitutional searches and seizures, discrimination and English-only rules in Maricopa County jails.
The DOJ had pressured the sheriff since March 2009 to turn over the materials. Last September, the Department filed a lawsuit against the sheriff’s office, demanding to have the documents.
The settlement between the Department and the sheriff’s office says the DOJ “concluded that it can obtain any additional information it needs to complete its investigation without resorting to costly and protracted litigation.”
“We are pleased that since the filing of our lawsuit, the sheriff’s office has reversed course and provided the department with information we have been seeking,” Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez of the Civil Rights Division said in a statement.
