Stephen Lemons

How the sheriff’s office milked a racial profiling case for $163M What do a golf cart, cable TV and car washes have to do with following a federal judge's order to stop racially profiling?

“MCSO and Maricopa County had an incentive to allocate and overstate what should be regular operating costs to the Melendres Fund so that MCSO could bypass the State constitutional spending limit"
www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/maricop...

He’s Tucson’s ‘mushroom man.’ The feds may deport him over paperwork Hernan Castro has a big following among Arizona mushroom enthusiasts. He's been in federal lockup since late May.

www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/tucson-...

Federal judge smacks Trump admin for bogarting Tucson murder suspect The Trump administration has refused to hand over a murder suspect facing charges in Tucson. A judge now says it has to.

Federal judge smacks Trump admin for bogarting Tucson murder suspect
Score one for Laura Conover
www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/tucson-...

So much for federalism, much less posse comitatus. "Trump deploys troops to Portland, authorizing ‘full force’ if necessary" wapo.st/4pKK5pq

As a resident of #Portland it is impossible to capture how unhinged this is. We are a low crime city and the ICE protest "siege" consists of one auxiliary ICE office that normally has at most a dozen weirdos debating what performance art they should use to block a single driveway

1 detainee dead, 2 critically wounded after shooting at Dallas ICE facility A shooter, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, killed a detainee and injured two others outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas after firing from a nearby rooftop Wedne...

What the world needs now is another Martin Luther King, Jr.
www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/...

AI will soon have a say in approving or denying Medicare treatments Taking a page from the private insurance industry’s playbook, the Trump administration will launch a program next year to find out how much money an artificial intelligence algorithm could save the fe...

AI weaponized against us www.tucsonsentinel.com/nationworld/...

I know older people were conditioned to pick up the phone when it rings; I was well into my thirties when cell phones became ubiquitous. But that's a habit you really should unlearn.

When the phone rings, look at the caller ID. If it isn't someone in your phone directory, hit "ignore".

Murdered man’s family slams ‘shocking’ police communication failures "They use that all the time: 'We dropped the ball.' That must be the department catchphrase instead of 'to serve and protect.'"

"They use that all the time: 'We dropped the ball.' That must be the department catchphrase instead of 'to serve and protect.'"

Murdered man’s family slams ‘shocking’ police communication failures "They use that all the time: 'We dropped the ball.' That must be the department catchphrase instead of 'to serve and protect.'"

"They use that all the time: 'We dropped the ball.' That must be the department catchphrase instead of 'to serve and protect.'"
www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/phoenix...

Murdered man’s family slams ‘shocking’ police communication failures "They use that all the time: 'We dropped the ball.' That must be the department catchphrase instead of 'to serve and protect.'"

David Denogean was murdered in 2022. Police ID'd a suspect in 2023.

No one told his family until we got the police report.

"They use that all the time: 'We dropped the ball.' That must be the department catchphrase instead of 'to serve and protect.'"

By @stephenlemons.bsky.social:

Happy First Amendment Day!

Charlie Kirk's funeral was a marathon of Christian Nationalism The line between church and state was nowhere to be found at Sunday's service, which drew masses of Charlie Kirk followers.

The line between church and state was nowhere to be found at Sunday's service, which drew masses of Charlie Kirk followers.

Charlie Kirk's funeral was a marathon of Christian Nationalism The line between church and state was nowhere to be found at Sunday's service, which drew masses of Charlie Kirk followers.

www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/charlie...

Police identified, never charged suspect in 2022 teacher killing Records from David Denogean’s murder investigation show police have had a suspect since 2023. Denogean’s family didn't know.

Police identified, never charged suspect in 2022 teacher killing
Records from David Denogean’s murder investigation show police have had a suspect since 2023. Denogean’s family didn't know. www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/phoenix...

Police identified, never charged suspect in 2022 teacher killing Records from David Denogean’s murder investigation show police have had a suspect since 2023. Denogean’s family didn't know.

Records from David Denogean’s murder investigation show police have had a suspect since 2023. Denogean’s family didn't know.

Police identified, never charged suspect in 2022 teacher killing Records from David Denogean’s murder investigation show police have had a suspect since 2023. Denogean’s family didn't know.

Police identified, never charged suspect in 2022 teacher killing
Records from David Denogean’s murder investigation show police have had a suspect since 2023. Denogean’s family didn't know. www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/phoenix...

How kissing Trump’s ass won a Border Patrol leader a cushy job abroad As head of the Border Patrol union, Brandon Judd fawningly sucked up to Trump. Now he's set to become ambassador to Chile.

As head of the Border Patrol union, Brandon Judd fawningly sucked up to Trump. Now he's set to become ambassador to Chile.

How kissing Trump’s ass won a Border Patrol leader a cushy job abroad As head of the Border Patrol union, Brandon Judd fawningly sucked up to Trump. Now he's set to become ambassador to Chile.

As Border Patrol union president, Brandon Judd enthusiastically embraced Donald Trump, to the dismay of some agents.

Now, that sychophancy is being rewarded with an ambassadorship to Chile.

The latest in the Arizona Watchdog Project from @stephenlemons.bsky.social:

The Arpaio All-Stars: Meet the county sheriff’s sketchy retreads Jerry Sheridan claims he’s no Sheriff Joe. Still, he's brought back some of Arpaio's favorite badge-wearin' bubbas.

Sheridan may be “putting the band back together,” the insider said — only “they’re a lot older and don’t sing as well.”
www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/maricop...

The Arpaio All-Stars: Meet the county sheriff’s sketchy retreads Jerry Sheridan claims he’s no Sheriff Joe. Still, he's brought back some of Arpaio's favorite badge-wearin' bubbas.

“He's bringing back the bad guys...”

Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan insists he's not Joe Arpaio.

So why has he filled his command staff with some of Arpaio's favorite minions?

From @stephenlemons.bsky.social:

And yet nobody recognizes this change as the strong indicator of deepening mental illness it so obviously is.

Tom Homan once spared Phoenix migrants. Now he’s Trump’s Darth Vader Pre-Trump, colleagues of border czar Tom Homan described him as reasonable. Now, they see a cruel man they don’t recognize.

Read the full story from @stephenlemons.bsky.social on Tom Homan's MAGA conversion at @phoenixnewtimes.com.

Tom Homan once spared Phoenix migrants. Now he’s Trump’s Darth Vader Pre-Trump, colleagues of border czar Tom Homan described him as reasonable. Now, they see a cruel man they don’t recognize.

Pre-Trump, colleagues of border czar Tom Homan described him as reasonable. Now, they see a cruel man they don’t recognize.

Tom Homan once spared Phoenix migrants. Now he’s Trump’s Darth Vader Pre-Trump, colleagues of border czar Tom Homan described him as reasonable. Now, they see a cruel man they don’t recognize.

As the head of ICE removals under Obama, Tom Homan cut undocumented aliens a break. Now he calls the same policies “borderline treasonous.”
www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/tom-hom...

Tom Homan once spared Phoenix migrants. Now he’s Trump’s Darth Vader Pre-Trump, colleagues of border czar Tom Homan described him as reasonable. Now, they see a cruel man they don’t recognize.

As the head of ICE removals under Obama, Tom Homan cut undocumented aliens a break. Now he calls the same policies “borderline treasonous.”
www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/tom-hom...

@stephenlemons.bsky.social Man, that pregnant immigration piece broke my heart!

Miscarriage of justice: Donald Trump’s war on pregnant migrants Kept in awful conditions by ICE, Rubia Morales-Alfaro lost a pregnancy. In Trump’s America, there's no mercy for migrant moms.

Jailing pregnant women is unnecessary and dangerous. It can cause miscarriages, like the one Rubia Morales-Alfaro suffered in ICE custody.

Yet under Trump, arresting, chaining and detaining pregnant immigrants is a common occurrence.

By @stephenlemons.bsky.social: