APACHE JUNCTION, Ariz., April 10, 2011 -
The Pinal County Greens, members of the Arizona Green Party in Pinal County, today passed a resolution condemning Sheriff Paul Babeu's continued misrepresentations regarding drug trafficking and his irresponsible comments regarding immigrants and crime. The Pinal County Greens called on Babeu to resign his post immediately.
As The Arizona Republic today reported, Babeu has made repeatedly called Pinal County "the No. 1 pass-through county in all of America for drug and human trafficking," but this statement is proven untrue by statistics. As Dennis Wagner reported,
Pinal County accounts for only a fraction of overall trafficking.
The newspaper also found that other headline-grabbing claims by Babeu are contradicted by statistical evidence or greatly exaggerated.
For example, the charismatic first-term sheriff raised eyebrows two months ago when he predicted that his deputies would get into a gunbattle with cartel members in the desert during the next 30 to 60 days. The forecasted encounter did not happen.
Although critics, including the Department of Homeland Security and some border mayors, have challenged Babeu's veracity and questioned his motives, the sheriff shows no sign of tempering his claims.
In an undated letter seeking donations for a legal battle against the federal government, Babeu says "things are just going from bad to worse now that our own federal government has sided with the criminals instead of law enforcement."
Babeu, through a spokesman, declined to be interviewed, saying he was too busy. He did, however, respond to questions sent via e-mail. He wrote that Pinal County residents have reported such rampant increases in smuggling activity that they are terrified to leave their homes.
By contrast, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and others in the Obama administration point to statistical evidence that America's border is more secure than ever. They have drawn support from some border officials who publicly accuse Babeu of conducting a fear campaign.
Some county residents are concerned that the sheriff is overstating the crime rates in Pinal County. A group called Pinal County Residents of Responsible Leadership has been making automated phone calls in the area, with a male speaker criticizing Babeu's "irresponsible" rhetoric about border-related crime. Listeners who want to lodge a complaint with the sheriff's "political office" are transferred to the Arizona Republican Party.
Richard Grayson, co-chair of the Pinal County Greens, said the group passed a resolution calling on Sheriff Babeu to resign immediately given his unprofessional antics and continued misbehavior in office.
"To say that Pinal County residents are terrified to leave their homes makes him not only unfit for the office of sheriff," Grayson said, "but suggests that Sheriff Babeu needs some sort of antipsychotic medicine and treatment for agoraphobia. Everyone in Apache Junction seems to be enjoying themselves in the great outdoors on this beautiful day."
