We have previously followed the feudal system created by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Arizona. Arpaio’s insatiable desire for media attention has led him to turn over areas of his office to Hollywood producers. Last week, Arpaio’s unhinged administration gave the public another bizarre scene as Steven Seagal was seen attacking a home with a tank, armored cars, bomb robot, and dozens of SWAT team members. The crime? Suspected involvement in cockfighting.

The police acknowledge that there was no evidence to suggest that the man was dangerous or that he was armed. He was indeed arrested without a struggle and no guns were found in the house. Well, without a struggle on his part. The armored Seagal attack blew its windows out and caused the neighborhood to think that an invasion was afoot. The huge operations (and its attendant costs) was basically a stage set up to give Seagal good footage for his reality program, “Lawman.” Seagal is shown riding in the tank in the assault on the suspected cockfighter.

In response to the obvious excessive use of force and needless cause of property damage, Sgt. Jesse Spurgin simply said“We’re going to err on the side of caution. We’re going to make sure that we have the appropriate amount of force in case we do run into anything like that.” I understand now. Allowing Seagal to parade around in a tank with a film crew is simply being cautious.

The people of Arizona have allowed this circus to continue with Arpaio. It appears that no constitutional violation or public scandal will shake his control of the county. What is remarkable is that even his choice of actors is low grade.

Source: KPHO found on Reddit.

Jonathan Turley