PHOENIX (AP) — The sheriff of metro Phoenix will not contest a claim that he’s in civil contempt of court in the same racial profiling case in which his predecessor, Joe Arpaio, was found to be in contempt.
Without explicitly saying Sheriff Paul Penzone was in contempt, his lawyers said the lawman understands that a judge intends to hold him in contempt for noncompliance with a court-ordered overhaul of his agency’s internal affairs operation.
Arpaio was found in both civil and criminal contempt for disobeying a 2011 order to stop his immigration patrols. His conviction was later pardoned by then-President Donald Trump.
