Sheriff Arpaio’s thugs threaten to arrest a New Times reporter for looking at public records – (wow, you have to read this one) – Phoenix, Arizona From: blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com

How close did I come to getting arrested by Maricopa County sheriff’s deputies today? As Maxwell Smart would say, “Missed it by that much.”

The problem: I had the nerve to want to look at the same public records that sheriff’s deputies were scouring at the City of Phoenix public records counter.
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I strolled up to the deputies, identified myself, and asked who they were. They refused to reveal their names, but that’s them in the picture at the top of this article. I told the pair I was interested in seeing what documents the city had released to them, and asked them if it was all right if I took a peek at some of the documents in the box that they weren’t using at the time. They said no way, then turned over some of the public records that had been face-up so I couldn’t see them.

I stated that I had the right to simply reach into the box and look at the records, but the deputy in the blue shirt said he “wouldn’t advise that.” Which I took to mean, by the words and his tone, that he’d arrest me.”*

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