Audit: Sheriff's office overstated reform costs by $160M
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
A racial-profiling court case initiated under former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, pictured in his office in 2009, continues to mar the county. Photo: Joshua Lott/Getty Images
An independent audit found this week that the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office overstated the cost of court-ordered reforms by more than $160 million.
Why it matters: Local officials have long pointed to the court oversight — imposed after a racial-profiling case nearly 20 years ago — as a costly burden on taxpayers and a cautionary tale against other police reforms.
The big picture: Nearly 10 years after controversial former Sheriff Joe Arpaio was ousted from office, the legacy of his illegal immigration crackdowns continues to mar Maricopa County.
- Former Sheriff Paul Penzone, the Democrat who defeated Arpaio in 2016, and current Sheriff Jerry Sheridan, a Republican who served as Arpaio's chief deputy, inherited the court monitoring.
Catch up quick: In 2007, a group of Latino drivers and passengers successfully sued MCSO, alleging they were targeted by sheriff's deputies because of their skin color.
- After ruling that Arpaio and his agency had racially profiled and illegally detained Latinos in 2013, U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow mandated a series of reforms and appointed a monitor to ensure compliance.
- Both Arpaio and Penzone were found in contempt for failing to comply with the court's orders, spurring additional oversight of MCSO.
The latest: The audit, which Snow ordered last year to provide transparency, found that MCSO has vastly overstated the cost of complying with court orders related to the racial profiling case.
- About $163 million, or 72%, of the $226 million the sheriff's office claimed to have spent between 2014 and 2024 was not directly related to the court orders, per the report.
By the numbers: Auditors found myriad misattributed expenses, including:
- The full salaries of at least 70 employees who spent only a fraction of their time on duties related to court orders;
- $1.5 million in office renovations;
- $1.3 million for 42 new vehicles;
- $30,000 worth of car washes.
The intrigue: Maricopa County may have violated state spending limits, auditors noted.
- The cost of federal court judgments doesn't count toward the spending caps spelled out in the state's constitution.
- But because MCSO incorrectly attributed expenses, the county appears to have exceeded the spending limit by at least $13 million in fiscal year 2022, likely continuing to do so, according to the report.
What they're saying: "This mischaracterization misleads the public on the cost of reform efforts, and calls into question MCSO's credibility, transparency, and truthfulness," auditors noted.
The other side: MCSO spokesperson Sgt. Joaquin Enriquez said in a statement that the department's attorneys are reviewing the report "to determine areas of common ground and any findings we may dispute."
- Maricopa County Board of Supervisors chair Thomas Galvin said in a statement that "the board has confidence in MCSO's budgeting team and will respond accordingly."
The intrigue: The city of Phoenix pointed to the inflated cost of MCSO's court monitoring to encourage the federal government not to issue a consent decree after a 2024 Department of Justice investigation found the city's police department committed multiple civil rights violations.
What's next: The county has about a month to respond to the audit, per Snow's latest order.