Judge cites Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone with contempt as backlog of complaint probes grows

Source: Arizona Republic

Judge cites Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone with contempt as backlog of complaint probes grows

Rafael Carranza and Jimmy Jenkins, Arizona Republic
Thu, November 10, 2022 at 12:23 AM·7 min read

A federal judge took a familiar step Tuesday, finding Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone to be in civil contempt of his long-standing court orders.

U.S. District Court Judge Murray Snow in Phoenix found the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office took too long to close investigations into staff misconduct, in a Tuesday ruling.

That caseload has grown to more than 2,000, with investigators taking nearly two years to close them, on average.

Snow ordered the Sheriff’s Office to begin reducing its growing backlog of internal investigations into all allegations of misconduct or else face stiff financial penalties that would have to be paid by taxpayers.

He is the same judge who found former Sheriff Joe Arpaio in civil and criminal contempt of his orders.

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Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/judge-cites-maricopa-county-sheriff-042328814.html

Original AZCentral link (paywall): https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2022/11/09/judge-orders-penzone-mcso-reduce-internal-investigation-backlog/8319226001/