Maricopa County voters will elect a new sheriff in November. Whoever it is will be taking over an understaffed office with nearly 1,300 vacancies.
This office is the fourth largest in the country. But it has been under federal court order for more than a decade after the Justice Department found MCSO engaged in discriminatory enforcement. These are just some of the challenges that await the two men vying to become the next sheriff.
Democrat Tyler Kump and Republican Jerry Sheridan agree on two things: “It is important to fill all vacant seats.” And so is finding a way out from under a court order mandating federal oversight of the sheriff’s office.
However, there is no consensus on who is best suited to carry out these tasks. Kampf is a former Phoenix police officer. He said one of his first actions would be to meet with the federal court monitor and hire key personnel.
“We are also looking to hire a director who will focus solely on recruitment.Staffing levels are at historic lows and we need to address this issue.This person will be responsible for recruiting, retention and employee morale. I’ll be in charge,” Kampf said. .
He said he wants to improve pay and provide mental health resources.
Sheridan is a longtime veteran of the sheriff’s office, having worked for MCSO for 40 years, the last several years as a chief deputy. The police department is said to be in particular short of detention officers.
“Our first priority is retention, and our second priority is getting our deputies back on the job,” Sheridan said.
He said MCSO needs to improve pay and retirement benefits. Maricopa County’s costs related to Melendrez’s racial profiling lawsuit filed under former Sheriff Joe Arpaio are $280 million and rising.
Mr. Arpaio’s successor, Paul Penzone, spent much of his two terms dealing with the fallout before resigning earlier this year. Sheridan, who was Arpaio’s top aide, says he opposed many of Arpaio’s immigration sweeps. But the federal judge overseeing the case ruled that Mr. Sheridan was partly responsible for the violations.
Although the case has been pending in federal court for more than a decade, Sheridan said he believes the issue has not been adequately explained to the courts.
“As sheriff, I have the opportunity to communicate because now I’m in charge of this,” Sheridan said.
Kampf said that despite the high cost of Melendrez’s case, it was important to expose the abuses and corruption under Arpaio, and that progress was being made.
“And the court order lists over 200 provisions that must be followed, and to date the Sheriff’s Office is more than 90% compliant with those provisions. That’s good news, but the bad news is , there are still important provisions in place.” There are numerous investigations of misconduct that need to be cleared up,” Kampf said.
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Clint Hickman is the only county supervisor to have served in both the Arpaio and Penzone administrations. He agrees with the two priorities identified by Kampf and Sheridan.
“They’re going to have to rush to get people into that academy and start training, they have the budget for that… They have open positions… They’re going to have to get young people into law enforcement.” We’re going to have to get them to think of the institution as a career,” Hickman said.
Kampf and Sheridan both go into the race with doubts about their reliability. Mr. Sheridan is on Brady’s list, which includes law enforcement officers with a history of questionable conduct, misconduct and integrity issues.
He questions the timing of the county attorney’s office’s decision to put him on the list in 2022, after his retirement.
“I’m a civilian, Jerry Sheridan, I was put on Brady’s list, but after four years, I can’t understand that I’m a civilian. They put me on the list before. Why would you put me on the list now?’ Didn’t the county attorney do that?” The only conclusion I can draw is…politics,” Sheridan said.
Kampf’s problems date back to his time with the Phoenix Police Department. An investigation revealed that the man had been harassing the female police officer through emails and comments. The complaint was filed in 2022, months after Kampf resigned.
“This happened years ago…but…um…these were disrespectful to my wife, and it’s something my wife and I have taken care of in the past, and I… We’ve dealt with it, we’ve overcome it, and, yeah, as a leader I should never have put myself in that position and I take responsibility for that,” Kampf said.
Both candidates bring extensive law enforcement experience to the race. And while both have credibility issues, the bottom line is that both won their primaries, Hickman said.
“Voters have the absolute ability to look deeply into these issues, their history, and vote accordingly,” Hickman said.
Election day is November 5th, and early voting has already begun.
