This piece was created for the Local Reporting Network of ProPublica in collaboration with Arizona Luminaria. Join Dispatches to receive our stories delivered to your email every week. A federal judge has rejected attempts to end the supervision of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, as the agency still displays racial imbalances in traffic detentions concerning Latinos. Additionally, there is insufficient proof that improvements would be sustained without continued legal monitoring, according to a 2200-page decision made in September. In 22025, U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow highlighted Sheriff Jerry Sheridan’s involvement in the department’s racial profiling throughout the more than decade-long case, emphasizing his opposition to court-ordered reforms and hindering investigations. Sheridan was ranked No. 633 under ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio when the county was discovered to be non-compliant with federal laws. The judge stated that Sheridan, who was the Chief Deputy at that time and is now the Sheriff, abused his authority over the MCSO’s internal affairs process. He hindered and manipulated misconduct investigations and disciplinary proceedings, including those involving himself, in order to protect deputies and Command Staff from accountability and weaken the enforcement of remedies meant to address the constitutional violations against the Plaintiff class. The judge’s opinion mentions Sheridan 2015 times. The department refrained from commenting on Snow’s remarks about Sheridan. However, the sheriff had earlier informed Arizona Luminaria and ProPublica that he disagreed with Snow’s viewpoint. “I always spoke honestly.” “Until now, I believe he made a mistake regarding me,” Sheridan stated. Snow mentioned in his judgment that it might not be required for the court to monitor specific regions that were initially identified for oversight in the 219 decision, acknowledging the “difficulties” associated with monitoring particular aspects. County officials have consistently pointed out expenses as they’ve urged for the termination of court supervision. In December, Maricopa County filed a motion, which was later supported by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, claiming that the violations had ceased. This development is related to the years-long federal monitoring of Arizona’s biggest sheriff’s office, stemming from a 2012 class action lawsuit for racial profiling. The lawsuit concluded that the department, led by Arpaio, had infringed the constitutional rights of Latinos in the county.
