Matt Smith/The Bay Citizen

District Attorney George Gascon on election night, Nov. 8, 2011

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón said he felt vindicated by a U.S. Justice Department report Thursday alleging that Joe Arpaio, who has called himself "America's toughest sheriff," and his deputies “engaged in a widespread pattern … of activities that discriminate against Latinos.”

Gascón was among the whistleblowers who charged that the Maricopa County, Ariz., sheriff’s office, led by Arpaio, singled out Latinos for racially based traffic stops, false imprisonment and other abuses. Gascón said he contacted federal officials in 2007, not long after he became the Mesa, Ariz., police chief in 2006. Mesa is in Maricopa County.

“I and several others brought this problem to the attention of the federal government,” Gascón said in an interview. “I felt it was important for me to be outspoken, because few people were able to be.”

In 2008, Arpaio ordered a raid on Mesa’s library and City Hall, looking for illegal immigrants employed by the city. Gascón said the raid, which resulted in the arrest of two elderly janitors on immigration-related charges, was in retaliation for his decision to speak out against Arpaio. The next year, a Phoenix television station reported that the FBI was investigating Arpaio’s use of his position to “settle political vendettas.”

“I was very open and very critical of the sheriff. I testified in Congress. I testified about his enforcement of immigration laws," Gascón said. "And he retaliated against me. The raid on City Hall, and the immigration sweeps, were all retaliation against me, because I was openly critical of what he was doing.” 

Gascón says Justice Department investigators interviewed him in 2009. “Myself and others met with federal authorities about the abuse of discretion and abuse of power that was going on in the county, and we said there needed to be a federal investigation,” he said.

In its report Thursday, the department said the “constitutional violations” committed by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office “are the product of an ingrained culture that encourages and tolerates the discriminatory treatment of Latino persons.” The department said the government will sue if the sheriff’s office refuses to make an agreement on reforms within 60 days.

Responding to the report, Arpaio said at a news conference, “This is a sad day for America.” He denied the charges that his office engaged in “unconstitutional policing.” He said that he and his staff “are proud of the work we have done to fight illegal immigration.”

Former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom named Gascón San Francisco police chief in 2009, and appointed him district attorney in January. When Gascón campaigned for a full term this fall, some of his critics described him as the only former Republican in a field of left-leaning candidates. But during his tenure as Mesa police chief, Gascón was best known for his role in speaking out against Arpaio’s alleged racial profiling practices.

“It’s hard to understand for people who have never been through this, the state of fear that was going on in Maricopa County in 2006, 2007 and 2008,” Gascón said. “The sheriff would go after people, and do search warrants. There was constant harassment. And people would be unable to afford the money it took to defend themselves. This was an incredible abuse of power that was going on.”           

In 1997, the Justice Department released the results of an investigation saying Arpaio violated the constitutional rights of prisoners. The sheriff’s critics said the report did not spur significant reforms.