Sheriff Urquhart explains his ‘unconscionable’ tweet about Trump, Arpaio

King County Sheriff John Urquhart explained Monday his controversial tweet about President Trump’s pardon of former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio.

“There’s no question that Trump had the Constitutional ability to do what he did; I don’t contend that,” Urquhart told Seattle’s Morning News. “…What I don’t like is the fact that this is a sheriff, of all people, who defied the orders of a federal judge. He was told to quit doing what he was doing and he did it anyway. So he was held in contempt of court. He was pardoned for that before he was even sentenced.”

RELATED: Trump defends decision to pardon Arizona’s Arpaio

Sheriff Urquhart tweeted on Aug. 25 expressing disapproval of President Trump’s pardon of Arpaio, stating: “Sheriff Joe violated the Constitution. The voters defeated him. The judge convicted him. The President pardoned him. Unconscionable.”

The pardon sends a bad message to law enforcement and the public, Urquhart said. He argues that it tells law enforcement they can defy the law, and sets up a dangerous culture where officers can abuse the law. It also sends a bad message to the people whose rights were violated by Arpaio’s orders, he said.

“It’s all about the culture and I think I set a culture in my sheriff’s office that my deputies are going to think twice before (profiling people),” Urquhart said. “Because they know if they get caught, I’m going to deal with it. I don’t condone it, I don’t allow it, we train against it and it better not happen.”

Arpaio’s time as sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona was controversial, culminating in a court case over what the Department of Justice said was the worst case of racial profiling in U.S. history. Urquhart’s tweet is not the only activity on Twitter pointing to Arpaio’s career. The Phoenix News Times tweeted its coverage of Arpaio over the years, with stories that include how Arpaio allegedly faked an assassination attempt on his own life and framed a man for the alleged crime. He also made headlines when he used taxpayer money to send a detective to Hawaii to dig up President Obama’s birth certificate.

RELATED: King County sheriff says president’s pardon of former sheriff is “unconscionable”

But for Sheriff Urquhart, it’s not about Arpaio’s controversial career, rather, it’s the pardon of the sheriff that prompted him to speak up.

“He was letting his deputies, ordering his deputies to violate the Constitution and that’s just beyond the pale,” Urquhart said. “We talk about the rule of law in this country and Joe Arpaio was violating the rule of law with impunity. Now he’s gotten a pass from the president. I object to that. He is certainly not the kind of sheriff that I am or would want to be, but he kept getting reelected so I haven’t commented on anything he’s done until now.”

RELATED: Pardon in hand, former Sheriff Joe Arpaio willing to run for US Senate

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