AZ Political Podcast: Breaking down MCSO’s federal oversight case

If you’ve never heard a breakdown of the numbers behind the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office‘s (MCSO) federal oversight case, you have to hear them on this week’s AZ Political Podcast.

But be warned: After learning about them, you will likely be shocked, maybe find yourself furious, and, finally, fed up with the federal judge who continues to insist that every single MCSO traffic stop — there are about 20,000 per year — must be reviewed by a sergeant. And it must be done via body cam footage, no less.

When you find out how few of those traffic stops, about 0.02%, resulted in an actual complaint, you’ll probably start to seethe. But, then, when you learn how few of those were upheld as legitimate complaints, around 0.003%, by the law firm monitoring MCSO’s progress towards becoming bias-free, there’s a good chance you’ll start seeing red.

That’s because the six total legitimate complaints over the course of 10 years (and approximately 200,000 traffic stops) have put MCSO in the red to the tune of more than $320 million.

Actually, it’s been us, the county taxpayers, who have been keeping MCSO from going into the red.

These numbers are the biggest takeaway from my guest on the AZ Political Podcast this week: Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan.

You also must hear what stands between MCSO’s 94% compliance score (which was achieved last week) and 100% compliance. It’s all paperwork-related and has almost nothing to do with the way MCSO deputies conduct themselves in the field.

We also learn a little bit about the sheriff‘s personal life. Like how growing up in Queens, New York, led to a long-term career in a western sheriff’s office.

And we talk about the ancient photographic equipment that Jerry Sheridan lugs around in order to take pictures of his adopted state’s spectacular landscape.

The AZ Political Podcast is available at KTAR.com, the KTAR News app and everywhere you get your podcasts.

Related

AZ Political Podcast: Consultant Stacy Pearson on what's happening with Democratic PartyAZ Political Podcast: Consultant Chuck Coughlin on Musk's 3rd party hopes, Gallego’s aspirationsAZ Political Podcast: Do polls hint at potential last-minute candidate for 2026 gubernatorial race?AZ Political Podcast: Analyst breaks down Arizona’s post-primary general election mapAZ Political Podcast: Could Republican infighting reshape key 2026 primary races in Arizona?AZ Political Podcast: Andy Biggs talks about running for governor, what he’ll do if he wins