Ariz. Sheriff Seizes County Computers Without Warrant
Initially, Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., filed suit against the county’s Board of Supervisors to attempt to gain control over computers in another county office containing criminal justice information.
But when the case wasn’t immediately resolved to his satisfaction he sent over his deputies to seize the computers last week, without a warrant, recounts columnist E.J. Montini of the Arizona Republic.
“From what I’ve read, the sheriff has a good case–legally,” writes Montini. “The computer has sensitive law enforcement information and should be under his control. It’s not his reasoning that I question. It’s his tactics.”
He’s not the only one. On Friday, Maricopa county Judge Joseph Heilman, who is hearing the computer case, ordered the sheriff’s office to divulge the new password it has installed on the disputed computer system, the newspaper reports in another article.
Afterward, Chief Deputy David Hendershott said he was ready to go to jail for contempt of court, if need be, rather than comply with the order. Doing so, he contends, would violate federal criminal information law, the Republic recounts.
At issue in the computer case, which has been ongoing since April, is the county’s Integrated Criminal Justice Information System. It serves as a hub for the sharing of criminal information among county agencies with a law enforcement role.
