A court-ordered audit has found that the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office misused $163 million intended to address racial profiling reforms, with auditors concluding that nearly 72% of spending charged to a class-action settlement was misattributed or misappropriated. The finding comes as Sheriff Jerry Sheridan and Republican county supervisors argue that the cost of complying with court-ordered reforms has become unsustainable.
The audit, conducted by a two-member team hired by the court-appointed monitor, examined $226 million in expenses the sheriff's office billed to the settlement over a 10-year period. Auditors determined only $63 million was appropriately charged to comply with court orders from the 2013 ruling that found Sheriff Joe Arpaio's department violated the constitutional rights of Latino drivers.
Among the questionable expenditures were more than $7,000 in cable TV subscriptions, an $11,000 golf cart, $1.5 million in renovations to office space in a Phoenix high-rise, and $1.7 million for Tasers. The financial records also showed $310,000 for travel and professional development, including $1,261 in 2020 to research buying a rescue boat and swift-water training for deputies who work in the desert, $4,070 in 2021 to train and test whether to purchase a horse for the mounted unit, and $5,077 to attend National Police Week in Washington, D.C., in 2023.
What the Right Is Saying
Sheriff Sheridan and Republicans on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors have argued that compliance costs have far exceeded the scope of the original racial profiling complaints and should be ended. They contend the reforms, including additional investigators for misconduct reports and a court-appointed monitor, have created an expensive bureaucratic structure disproportionate to the initial violations found in 2013.
The county's legal filings argue that Hispanic residents concerned with racial profiling are unaffected by how the county allocates costs for compliance. "Nor does any member of the Class experience a constitutional violation because MCSO purchased a golf cart," the Board of Supervisors told U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow.
County supervisors maintain they have not violated federal or state law in their accounting practices and say the court should reduce its oversight requirements. They note that Maricopa County, home to more than half of Arizona's 7.3 million residents, has approved $353 million in total spending related to the settlement since 2013.
What the Left Is Saying
Latino community leaders and civil rights attorneys say the audit findings underscore why continued court oversight remains necessary. They point to ongoing racial disparities in traffic stops affecting Latino residents as evidence that reforms are incomplete. The lingering disparities have taken on added urgency as the Trump administration has increased local law enforcement's involvement in immigration enforcement, community advocates note.
Attorneys for plaintiffs in the Melendres v. Arpaio case argue that misusing settlement funds meant for accountability measures represents a fundamental breach of the court's authority. They contend that allowing the county to exit court oversight while disparities persist would undermine the original purpose of the settlement: ensuring Latino drivers are not targeted based on race.
"Digging into county finances and trying to minimize the cost of Melendres compliance is not just an insult to taxpayers, it's beyond the federal court's jurisdiction," Republican supervisors Thomas Galvin and Kate Brophy McGee said in a November statement. "Nothing about our budgeting or accounting practices violates federal or state law."
What the Numbers Show
The audit focused on $226 million the sheriff's office charged to the settlement over a decade: auditors determined only $63 million was appropriately attributed, meaning nearly 72% of costs were misattributed or misappropriated. The county has spent approximately $353 million total related to the Melendres settlement since it was approved in 2013.
Specific questionable expenses identified include $11,000 for a golf cart, more than $7,000 for cable TV subscriptions, $1.5 million for office renovations, and $310,000 for travel including boat research for desert-based deputies and Police Week attendance. The sheriff's office also charged $1.7 million for Tasers to the settlement.
The audit found that full costs of some services and salaries were assigned to the settlement when those positions were completely unrelated or only partially related to court orders. Auditors noted that overstating reform costs "misleads the public on the cost of reform efforts and calls into question MCSO's credibility, transparency, and truthfulness of its reporting."
The Bottom Line
The county has filed a motion to end court oversight of the settlement, which remains pending before Judge Snow. If approved, it would eliminate the monitor's oversight role and reduce external accountability for how funds are spent.
What happens next: The judge must decide whether to continue requiring reforms given the audit findings showing widespread financial mismanagement by the same department subject to oversight. Community advocates say any reduction in monitoring would send a signal that compliance with court orders carries no real consequences, while county officials argue they have fulfilled their obligations and should regain control over local spending decisions.