COLORADO CITY, Ariz. – The officers with the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office began to patrol Colorado City Friday.
Mohave County Sheriff Tom Sheahan and deputies began daily patrols in the polygamous border town. The purpose of the patrols is to help ensure the rights of citizens, particularly those not belonging to the Fundamentalist Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, against civil rights violations allegedly committed by local authorities and law enforcement.
A complaint was recently filed by the U.S. Department of Justice against the Colorado City and Hildale town governments for numerous civil rights violations. Town utilities, as well as the Colorado City Marshal’s Office, both of which are under staffed by members of the FLDS Church, have interfered “with the housing of rights of non-FLDS members” through coercion, intimidation, and threats, according to the lawsuit.
“This action is necessary because of evidence that local police placed their allegiance to Warren Jeffs over their duty to enforce the law objectively, regardless of people’s religion,” Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne said in a statement.
The patrols are made possible through a grant provided by the Attorney General’s office. The grant, $500,000-worth, will pay for deputy sheriff overtime and expenses to provide fair and unbiased law enforcement services to this community on the Arizona-Utah border.
“This is a monumental occasion and we are focusing our efforts on helping those in this community who are in need and working with our County Attorney Matt Smith and Attorney General Horne to root out corruption in this city government,” Sheahan said.
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Copyright 2012 St. George News.
i would like to hear what the flds residents have to say in defense.
I’ve heard some of their conversations at the local Wal Mart, which I think qualifies me to comment on this. These people are pretty dumb, and I mean DUMB. Who cares what they have to say?
Great. Now we just traded one form of prejudice for another.
They think they’re gonna “root out corruption.” What a joke.
It has been nice to call the police and not have to wait 4 hours for them. It will be sad when the money dries up and the law is gone again.
Carol YOU are wrong your choice of the word ALIEN is no dinfereft than the media’s choice to use IMMIGRANT ,by virtue of its definition it does not connote status of legality; hence the use of the adjective ILLEGAL or LEGAL for either word. just because you choose to use the word alien, does not make them NOT IMMIGRANTS. they are choosing (ILLEGALLY) to IMMIGRATE here. that makes them an immigrant i’m really tired of people arguing about an immigration policy that is ineffectual and trivial because it’s reduced to how they decided to come here if they want to be citizens, let them be, they’ll pay their taxes just like you and i do or at least like i do, as i find it my civic duty to.