Reporter weighs in on Arpaio’s appearance in court

Sheriff Joe Arpaio took the stand Tuesday as part of
the federal case against him and his
offices. Arpaio and his deputies are facing allegations of
racially profiling during crime suppression sweeps.

Fox Ten reporter Steve Krafft told KTAR’s Mac and Gaydos
Show
Tuesday
that Arpaio’s attorney’s tried to paint a different
picture of the sheriff.

“They’re trying to suggest that he is a lightning rod on
this issue, because he is one of the few people who are
courageous enough to take a stand,” Krafft said. “He
receives a lot of mail, a lot of media attention directed
his way and a lot of overheated rhetoric.”

Kraft said that Arpaio was far from his normal self in
court, wearing a dark suit and was carrying a hushed tone
looking very subdued.

“Today he said he had a touch of the flu, and they asked
if he’d be able to testify and he said ‘Yeah, okay,'”
Krafft said. “He kept his voice down the whole time.”

Arpaio addressed allegations of being racist during
interviews on television and radio, as well as racially
profiling Hispanics.

“Of course, he went on the say that these are taken out of
context and that anything that was wrong in his book was
taken out of context by his ghost writer,” Krafft said.

Outside of the courthouse, dozens of people gathered to
protest the sheriff and four people were arrested for
blocking traffic.