PHOENIX (Dec. 1) — Hecklers broke out into song and forced a high-profile Arizona sheriff to abandon a First Amendment forum sponsored by Arizona State University's journalism school.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was asked by a panel of journalists Monday night to explain his relationship with the media, his various law enforcement policies and whether his office conducts racial profiling.
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Arpaio told the panel that his office is an "equal opportunity law enforcement agency" that will arrest anyone who violates the law. (Phoenix television station ABC15 has a full story on the event, including Arpaio's answers to the panel's questions.)
Later in the interview at ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, protesters began loudly singing "Bohemian Rhapsody" and chanting as Arpaio was asked about a federal investigation and his policies on illegal immigration.
The sheriff told the panel the outburst was "ridiculous," and he left the stage.
ASU journalism school dean Christopher Callahan said the protest was unfortunate.
"I understand your passion about this issue," Callahan said, according to a report in the Arizona Republic. "It just seems to me, misplaced."
Some students also were disappointed that protesters disrupted the session.
"I felt that the protesters were really out of place by not allowing the journalists to finish questioning him," student Gabrielle Abrams told the Republic. "In protesting Arpaio, they helped him out by letting him leave 20 minutes early."
Arpaio, who has billed himself the toughest sheriff in America, is well known for his policies on jail inmates and illegal immigrants.
