The U.S. Department of Justice in a report dated December 15, 2011 stated that the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) use of excessive force may constitute a pattern or practice of Fourth Amendment violations under Section 14141. Example:

• In May 2009, an MCSO deputy stopped E.E., a Latino U.S. citizen, after E.E. picked up a Latino day laborer. The deputy told E.E. that he had pulled him over for speeding, but E.E. suspected that he had been pulled over because of his and his passenger’s Latino ethnicity. E.E. questioned the deputy’s reason for pulling him over. The deputy, along with other MCSO deputies who had arrived on the scene, responded by forcibly removing E.E. from his vehicle, twisting his arm, head, and neck and causing E.E. to fall and hit his face on the pavement. The MCSO deputies kept E.E. on the ground, handcuffed him, and searched him. E.E. was bleeding from multiple lacerations to his face, and experienced neck and back pain from the holds the MCSO deputies had used to remove him from his vehicle. E.E. was ultimately taken to a medical facility where he received treatment for injuries to his face, neck, shoulder, and back. E.E. was never charged with any offense that might explain the officers’ use of force. Instead, E.E. was charged with criminal speeding and failure to produce identification. Both of these charges were eventually dropped.