Penzone Swears In As MCSO Boss

(Feature Photo: Facebook/Paul Penzone)

By Lorin McLain

Maricopa County has a new sheriff in town. Paul Penzone took the oath of office twice on Wednesday, first with other elected county officials, then later in the day during a special ceremony for supporters at Phoenix’s Heard museum. Before officially taking charge on New Year’s Day, no other person other than Joe Arpaio has held the position in 24 years.

Penzone ran during the election season on a campaign that stressed transparency, fiscal accountability, and improved community relations amid the controversy surrounding Arpaio’s federal indictment over racial profiling. He’s been a critic of tent city, calling pink underwear for inmates “nonsense,” and made comments insinuating that Arpaio’s decisions were at times influenced by a thirst for celebrity.

In a recent interview with “The Arizona Republic,” the former Phoenix police sergeant said his first priority is to cooperate with court appointed monitors ordered by federal judges in the racial profiling case. The MCSO was found guilty of running a policy that encouraged racial profiling of Latinos during traffic operations. The policy was perceived as an effort to weed out illegal immigrants living in Maricopa County. Penzone says the case has been immensely costly to taxpayers, and the department has to own up to findings of the court decisions, and take responsibility for the problems the case has caused.

Penzone has said he also wants to focus on improving morale among MCSO workers, admitting that it will be a big change in light of being the first new boss in 24 years. After winning the election, he laid out a list of objectives that included respecting all federal, state and local laws, evaluating all programs, and repairing inter-agency relationships. He’s also discussed creating partnerships for youth programs and improving community-based policing objectives. After the election, Penzone said he would like to keep and even expand Arpaio’s policy of using posse volunteers to assist in sheriff’s operations.