Officials agree to settle part of discrimination suit against Arizona sheriff

PHOENIX, July 16 (UPI) -- The Board of Supervisors for Maricopa County, Ariz., on Wednesday voted to settle part of a lawsuit against controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio that accused his office of using discriminatory practices -- such as targeting Hispanics.

The settlement will include renewed training for deputies and policy changes, but no monetary damages, the Arizona Republic reported Wednesday. The trial was scheduled to begin next month, but now the sheriff will face just one charge during the proceeding instead of four.

"The Sheriff's Office put us in a situation we should never have been in," Supervisor Steve Gallardo said of the settlement.

The agreement also mandates the sheriff's office to "establish an official policy prohibiting retaliation against any individual for any individual's lawful expression of ideas in the exercise of the First Amendment right to the freedom of speech."

Arpaio, Maricopa County's sheriff since 1993, is well-known across the Southwest for taking what some critics view as a hardline anti-immigration position.

In the past, Arpaio has been accused of abusing power, misuse of public funds, failure to investigate sex crimes, unlawful enforcement of immigration laws, and election law violations, according to the New York Times.

Wednesday's agreement settles three of the four Justice Department charges against the Arizona sheriff. The allegations charged that Arpaio retaliated against public officials, punished jail inmates for speaking Spanish and conducted workplace raids that targeted Latinos, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The fourth allegation, that Arpaio's office targets Latino motorists, will be the subject of a trial Aug. 10.

"People want their day in court," Gallardo said. "Most of these issues [in the] settlement are already moot. People have been pulled over, profiled, and they want to talk about these cases."