PHOENIX — A court hearing is scheduled Tuesday to examine a claim that Sheriff Paul Penzone isn't complying with a requirement in a racial profiling case to engage community members in a bid to restore public confidence in the agency.
The agency is required to participate in community meetings in response to a 2013 racial profiling verdict stemming from then-Sheriff Joe Arpaio's immigration patrols.
A lawyer pressing the case against the agency criticized Penzone's absence during a portion of a mid-October meeting, saying Penzone left before people could pose questions.
Penzone says he spoke with people outside the meeting location during that portion of the gathering but left out of concern that the event could turn into a spectacle because journalists who were following him around were preventing interaction with community members.
