Maricopa County's new sheriff is entering a department under federal supervision

PHOENIX (AZFamily) – In the race for sheriff of Maricopa County, Jerry Sheridan, a longtime former deputy and second in command under Sheriff Joe Arpaio, faced off against Tyler Kamp, a former Phoenix police detective.

Although the race has not yet been declared, Kamp has admitted.

It appears Sheridan will inherit a department that remains under federal supervision.

It dates back almost two decades. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office under Arpaio racially profiled Latino drivers.

It led to a federal lawsuit and ultimately brought about court oversight and reforms.

All this comes at the expense of taxpayers: $280 million.

At Arpaio’s side for much of it was Sheridan.

“Some of those reforms were necessary. There’s no doubt about it,” Sheridan said.

Sheridan went a step further, claiming that the judge who held him in contempt when he was chief deputy would welcome him back.

‘He’ll be happy because he won’t have to retrain me. I already know what’s going on. I already have a plan to execute the court order,” Sheridan explained.

Kamp, a former Phoenix police detective, acknowledged the challenges this posed during their debate.

“It’s about rebuilding relationships and that takes work, it takes time,” Kamp said.

It will probably take some time before they are aware of the reforms.

‘I think it could theoretically be possible. But an effective leader would come in and quickly access what has been done and what remains to be done,” said Emily Gunston, a former DOJ attorney who worked with police agencies like MCSO to comply with the rules.

The new Trump administration will mean a new US attorney general and possibly a change in focus. How could that affect the case?

“The Department of Justice could request changes to the court orders. The court may well look askance at the requested changes,” Gunston said.

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