In late June of this year the chief deputy of Pinal County Arizona, Steve Henry, requested funding from the county so that a small, temporary security detail could be provided for Sheriff Paul Babeu.
In the wake of publicity concerning the enforcement of AZ State Senate Bill 1070, as well as the various events that have occured in the continuing daily battle against illegal immigration — the effects of which are felt well into Pinal County — Sheriff Babeu has been outspoken in the effort to secure the United States border and support Gov. Jan Brewer.
As a result, not only have threats against his life been directly received at Babeu’s own Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, but law-enforcement sources outside that office have also forwarded similar “credible” threats of which they have been made aware. Said Chief Deputy Steve Henry, “Any threat against an elected official is serious and they usually come from upset citizens. We have information of additional threats from the Mexican Mafia and Drug Cartel members that are placing a ‘green light’ on our Sheriff. It is one thing to threaten an elected official, yet threats against the Sheriff by foreign born criminals raise this to a new level.”
On Monday, July 5, Babeu decided against accepting the arrangement of a personal security detail to protect himself. A memo released by the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office said:
At this time, Sheriff Babeu has made the decision not to request funding or the reallocation of positions to provide for a Security Detail because of our already stretched budget and the fact it would only take away from our limited staffing. Pinal County is nearly 5,400 square miles and is listed among America’s top five fastest growing counties; yet no additional sworn Deputies have been provided. Staffing is approximately one Deputy per thousand residents in unincorporated areas, which is far less than the average of 2.2 Officers per thousand residents that is the law enforcement standard in our region. In addition to the low staffing levels, Pinal County remains ground zero for drug and human smuggling.
Sheriff Babeu has vowed to continue the fight to secure our borders and fight drug smuggling and human trafficking across our state.
Babeu himself went on to say, “We don’t have enough Deputies to respond to local emergencies and to protect our Pinal families. I understand this threat, yet I will not run in fear or change my support for SB 1070 and my demands for President Obama to secure our border with 3,000 armed soldiers in Arizona and start building the fence again. I’m always armed and as every law enforcement member knows, we always have to be aware of our surroundings and possible threats.”
Photo of Sheriff Paul Babeu (left): AP Images
