AZ Sheriff Deportation Threat May Be Investigated

Phoenix, AZ (Gannett) -- A Pinal County supervisor and an immigrant-rights group are calling for investigations into Sheriff Paul Babeu, even as the attorney for the embattled lawman said Babeu will not ask for an outside review to clear his name.

Babeu, who won office promising county voters that he would clean house after government scandals and has touted his law-enforcement credentials in his bid for Congress, has repeatedly denied allegations that he threatened a Mexican ex-boyfriend with deportation to keep him quiet about their relationship.

Those allegations surfaced Friday in a newspaper story that also described suggestive photos posted by Babeu on dating websites and intimidating text messages he allegedly sent. The resulting media firestorm raised questions about the alleged threats and about Babeu's personal conduct.

Andrew Hall, a California-based police-procedure and administration consultant, said other lawmen who have claimed to be wrongfully accused have asked for independent investigations -- and subsequently been cleared.

But Chris DeRose, Babeu's attorney and campaign manager, said that if the ex-boyfriend, identified only as Jose, believes his allegations against Babeu are credible, he should be the one to take them to law enforcement for investigation. The sheriff, he said, will not.

"This is all just silliness," DeRose said. "It's not even something we've seriously considered."

Although Babeu claims that he, too, is a victim -- in this case, of identity theft by Jose -- Babeu has also declined to press charges.

Pete Rios, chairman of the Pinal County Board of Supervisors and a Babeu critic, said he hopes to meet Wednesday with the County Attorney's Office regarding alleged abuses of power and misuse of county resources. He said another option would be a review by the county Office of Internal Audit.

"We're looking for answers as well," he said Monday.

Rios said one challenge will be determining which agency could review the case objectively.

He said Maricopa County could appear biased because of Sheriff Joe Arpaio's past support of Babeu, while the next-largest county in Arizona, Pima, could be problematic because of past tension between Sheriff Clarence Dupnik and Babeu.

DeRose said Babeu has fully answered the allegations against him through media interviews and a lengthy news conference he held the day after the story was first published in the Phoenix New Times. Babeu confirmed he is gay but denied abusing his authority to intimidate the former boyfriend.

Babeu also denied that he sent explicit text messages to Jose from his county-issued phone, a potential abuse of county resources, and has fought back against criticism that he used poor judgment as a public official and lawman by sending sexually charged photos to Jose after posting on a gay singles website.

Bryan Martyn, a county supervisor who calls the sheriff a friend, said he stands by Babeu and wants any wrongdoing to be exposed.

"If there are criminal allegations here, we can pursue those," Martyn said, "but I don't see any reason we should ask the sheriff to step down based on an allegation."

Any resulting investigation would likely be conducted by an outside agency, such as the Arizona Department of Public Safety or the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, said Kostas Kalaitzidis, a Pinal County attorney spokesman. Some political observers have floated the possibility of an inquiry by the Arizona Attorney General's Office or the U.S. Department of Justice.

Lydia Guzman, director of the Phoenix-based immigrant-rights group Respect Respeto, sent a letter Monday to the Department of Justice requesting an investigation into potential abuse of power.

"These types of threats and acts of intimidation send a horrible message to the migrant community that they cannot look to their law-enforcement agencies for protection when they are victims of a crime," she wrote. "It is my feeling that neither an elected official nor a law-enforcement officer should abuse their positions to make such threats upon an individual in exchange for their silence, and this is why I am respectfully requesting an investigation into this matter."

Roger Vanderpool, retired DPS director and former Pinal County sheriff, said authorities need to investigate not only the allegations of abuse of power and intimidation by Babeu but any potential wrongdoing by Jose. Babeu may be a victim in this, too, Vanderpool said.

Until the truth surfaces, the issue will continue to be a distraction, he warned.

"For the sake of the citizens of Pinal County, the law-enforcement community, for Sheriff Babeu and Jose, whoever Jose is, there needs to be an investigation to answer all these questions," Vanderpool said. "It's obviously got the Sheriff's Office in turmoil, and it distracts from the duties of employees out there, and we need to lay it all to rest so people can get on with their business."