Sheriff Arpaio’s Office Pays $200,000

PHOENIX (CN) - Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office will pay $200,000 to settle claims Arpaio's deputies violated the rights of a U.S. citizen and a long-term permanent resident by forcing them from their truck, zip-tying and arresting them during an immigration raid.

Julian Mora, 68, and a legal U.S. resident for 30 years, and his son Julio Mora, a 21-year-old U.S. citizen, were arrested outside of Handyman Maintenance, Julian Mora's employer. They were taken to a worksite immigration raid, where they were handcuffed and held for 3 hours without water, food, or permission to use a bathroom.

"Sheriff Arpaio's deputies are not free to ignore the Constitution when they are enforcing immigration laws," Annie Lai, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona and lead counsel for the Moras, said in a statement.

"County officials should take heed that the Moras and hundreds of other Latino residents who have been detained in the raids without any evidence of wrongdoing have recourse in the courts."

U.S. District Judge David Campbell ruled in April that the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office violated the Moras' 4th Amendment rights by arresting them without cause, but dismissed the Moras' emotional distress, state constitution and 14th Amendment claims.

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