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| FILE-This Jan.9,2013 file photo shows Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio speaking with the media in Phoenix. Authorities say law officers in Arizona have intercepted an explosive device that was earmarked for Arpaio. |
PHOENIX (AP)
-- Arizona authorities say a package addressed to Sheriff Joe Arpaio
discovered in a northern Arizona mailbox would have exploded if opened,
leading to serious injuries or death.
Maricopa
County Chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan made the comment Friday at a news
conference in Phoenix. He said investigators are trying to locate one
person who may have been involved in mailing the package addressed to
his boss.
The package intercepted late
Thursday was addressed to Arpaio at his downtown Phoenix office. It had
been left in a parcel locker that was part of a multiple address mailbox
in a rural part of Coconino County, outside Flagstaff city limits.
U.S.
Postal Inspection Service spokesman Keith Moore said a courier called
his supervisor after noting it was suspicious, and the package was
eventually brought into the main Post Office in Flagstaff. An X-Ray
showed what appeared to be bomb-like components, including wires and a
container, and authorities used a water cannon to neutralize the
package, Sheridan said.
Arpaio, the
self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff in America," said this isn't the first
time he's been threatened. Arpaio is known nationally for his strict
treatment of jail inmates and cracking down on illegal immigration.
"Of
course you worry. I'm a victim, I'm a witness. When you convict people,
the victim has to be somewhat concerned. I'm a little concerned about
my family," Arpaio said at the news conference. "I didn't ask for all
these threats."
Postal Inspector Patricia
Armstrong said authorities were alerted by a "very astute" carrier who
observed "something suspicious" about the package.
Armstrong
didn't elaborate on what raised suspicion, but Tom Mangan, a spokesman
in Phoenix for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives, said initial reports indicated that the package was a box
that might have been damaged in transit and leaked gunpowder.
Sheridan
said the package contained black powder and an ignition device,
although he wasn't sure if it was packed into a container and would have
exploded or simply ignited in a flash fire. Either way, he said, it was
very dangerous.
"Had someone opened that
package, it would have caused a major explosion and caused serious
physical injury, burns and maybe death," Sheridan said. "That is a very,
very serious threat."
Authorities in Flagstaff, which is about 140 miles north of Phoenix, said they are pursuing leads in the case.
Arpaio
said he receives lots of packages, including ones with cookies recently
as he recuperated from a broken shoulder suffered when he fell crossing
a street on his way to lunch. He said he opens some of the packages
personally.
"Hey, they send me cookies, now they send me bombs," he said Friday. "It's a little different."
Arpaio
said the mailing of an explosive device addressed to him comes with his
line of work. He cited the recent killings of a West Virginia sheriff,
Colorado's corrections director and two prosecutors in Texas.
"That's the nature of the business," he said.
Arpaio said whoever is responsible for mailing the package, if found, would be brought to justice.
"I'm not going to be intimidated by anyone, that's a promise," he said.
Following
the killing of a West Virginia sheriff last week, Arpaio said elected
law enforcement officials across the nation seem to be targeted.
Arpaio
has had a security detail for years, and regularly receives threats.
This week, the sheriff's office said he had received threats from
Mexican drug cartels which put a $4 million bounty on him and possibly
dispatched a hit man to attack him.
The office
distributed a list of 10 cases since mid-2011 where people threatened
the sheriff, who is known for housing inmates in tents and forcing the
men to wear pink underwear. Most involved people posting threats on the
Internet or following routine arrests. Several suffered from a mental
illness, and several people reportedly were prompted by Arpaio's stance
against illegal immigrations.
Sheridan said there's no evidence linking the package found Thursday with a specific threat or cartels.
A campaign to recall Arpaio began just weeks after he started his sixth term in January.
Critics
contend that Arpaio should be ousted because his office failed to
adequately investigate more than 400 sex-crimes cases, allegedly
racially profiled Latinos in its trademark immigration patrols and has
cost the county $25 million in legal settlements over treatment in
county jails.
Arpaio has denied that his
deputies racially profiled Latinos in traffic patrols targeting illegal
immigration. His office has moved to clear up the sex-crime cases and
moved to prevent the problem from happening again, he said.
Sheridan
and Arpaio both lashed out at the Department of Justice and immigrant
activists who criticize him, saying they rile up people who are unstable
and end up threatening Arpaio.
"I'm saying the tempo out there, about this sheriff, does cause people to do bad things," Arpaio said.
