by JJ Hensley - Apr. 9, 2012 12:25 PM | Source: The Republic | azcentral.com
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery's demand that the U.S. Justice Department "put up or shut up" when it comes to the civil-rights investigation into the Sheriff's Office fell on confused ears in Washington, D.C., based on a letter federal officials delivered to Montgomery Monday.
The Justice Department remains confused about Montgomery's role in representing the Sheriff's Office, but regardless of the role he wants to play, the federal civil-rights probe should not interfere with Montgomery's efforts to prosecute criminals in Maricopa County, according to the letter Deputy Assistant U.S. Attorney General Roy Austin wrote to Montgomery.
The Justice Department last December released findings from a three-year investigation into the Sheriff's Office that accused it of rampant discrimination against Latinos in its police and jail operations. Negotiations on remedies were expected to begin last week, with the explicit threat of a federal lawsuit if negotiations were unsuccessful.
The federal government's confusion stems, in part, from Montgomery's response to the notice of findings the Justice Department delivered in December to Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Arpaio's attorneys and the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. On the day those findings were delivered, Montgomery told Justice Department officials that his office was not representing Arpaio and that federal investigators had "noticed the wrong party" in corresponding with the County Attorney's Office.
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