U.S. Senate candidate and former Sheriff Joe Arpaio visits Yuma

Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was in Yuma Tuesday. He is running for the United States Senate seat that will be vacated by Senator Jeff Flake.

Arpaio is a U.S. Army veteran who spent decades working as a Top Federal Drug official and Sheriff. He was stationed in foreign countries heading the DEA and combating the drug trade and criminal activity. He said he wants to continue fighting drugs and illegal immigration, open a Senate office at the border, and support President Trump and all of President Trump’s programs and policies.

He shared some photos on social media about his visit to Yuma County with this caption:

“Tuesday I returned to Yuma to speak to the Republican Party. Prior to that speech I made another stop. The trip brought back memories of when I was Head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Mexico and Arizona. When I was serving Arizona in my federal capacity, I had a office in San Luis Arizona. I had an opportunity to meet with our dedicated Custom Border Protection officials, while observing the fence yesterday. After spending 35 years as the Top Federal Drug official and Maricopa County Sheriff fighting the drug and other criminal activity, there is no doubt that we need a high wall and not fences to keep out the drugs and illegal immigration along with other criminals attempting to come into the United States from Mexico.”

Here is one of the photos he shared:

Below this article are more photos, including one with Arpaio and President Trump. If you want to learn more or volunteer for Arpaio’s campaign, you can visit https://www.sheriffjoeforamerica.com/. or you can click here .

The following statement is from the website and has more information on Arpaio:

“Known as “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” Joe Arpaio had a long and decorated career in law enforcement before being elected to Sheriff of Maricopa County in 1992.

After serving in the U.S. Army from 1950 to 1953, and as a Washington, D.C., and Las Vegas, NV, police officer, Arpaio went on to build a law enforcement career as a federal narcotics agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). For almost a decade, Arpaio was stationed in foreign countries where he headed the DEA combating the drug trade in which, even by today’s standards, are highly volatile and dangerous in Turkey, the Middle East, Mexico and Central and South America. He was also a diplomatic attache. In his last years with the DEA, Arpaio also gained invaluable expertise on border issues and enforcement as the head of the DEA in the border states of Arizona and Texas. He concluded his remarkable federal career as head of the DEA for Arizona.

In 1992, Arpaio successfully campaigned to become the Sheriff of Maricopa County, becoming the head of the nation’s third largest Sheriff’s Office which employs over 3400 people. He served an unprecedented six 4-year terms. During his tenure as Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arpaio consistently earned high public approval ratings.

In August, 1993, he started the nation’s largest Tent City for convicted inmates. Two thousand convicted men and women serve their sentences in a canvas incarceration compound. It was here that Arpaio launched his get-tough policies for inmates. He banned smoking, coffee, movies, pornographic magazines, and unrestricted TV in all jails. It is a remarkable success story that has attracted the attention of government officials, presidential candidates, and media worldwide.

Of equal success and notoriety were his chain gangs, which contributed thousands of dollars of free labor to the community by picking up litter, painting over graffiti and burying the indigent in the county cemetery.

Another program Arpaio was very well known for is the pink underwear he made all inmates wear. Years ago, when the Sheriff learned that inmates were stealing jailhouse white boxers, Arpaio had all inmate underwear dyed pink for better inventory control.

As chief law enforcement officer for the county, Arpaio continued to reduce crime with hard-hiting enforcement methods. He began an all-volunteer posse of 3,000 members, making it the nation’s largest volunteer posse. Posse men and women help in search and rescue and other traditional police work as well as in special operations like rounding up deadbeat parents, fighting prostitution, patrolling malls during holidays, and investigating animal cruelty complaints. The posse’s contributions are invaluable and essentially free to taxpayers.

In addition to these tough measures, the Sheriff launched rehabilitative programs like “Hard Knocks High,” the only accredited high school under a Sheriff in an American jail, and ALPHA, an anti-substance-abuse program that has greatly reduced recidivism.

On a personal note, Sheriff Arpaio and his wife Ava have been married for over 56 years and have two children, both residing in the Phoenix area. The Arpaios have four grandchildren.”