Sheriff Dupnik: Rush Limbaugh call-out nearly crashed our system (video)

By David Nakamura

Among the breakout figures - including astronaut Mark Kelly, intern Daniel Hernandez, and Dr. Peter Rhee -- to gain national acclaim in the wake of the Tucson shooting tragedy, none has developed the controversial, love-hate appeal of Pima County Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik.

Dupnik was cheered loudly by the crowd at the memorial service last Thursday at the University of Arizona that featured President Obama. But he has also received boos and hate mail, Dupnik acknowledged in a sit-down interview with Washington Post reporters Sari Horwitz and David Nakamura this week. He said talk show host Rush Limbaugh encouraged listeners to email the sheriff's office and "tell them what you think" and the department's computers nearly crashed after angry emails began flooding in.

Then again, he also told the Post he had received a supportive call from Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Bobby Kennedy who remains a fierce gun control advocate.

Watch and listen to what he told us:

Since the first hours of the incident, Dupnik has appeared on television far and wide, doing what law enforcement officials often try hard to avoid: injecting personal opinions and politics into a high-profile criminal case with sensitive evidence.

In a nationally televised news conference after the shooting, Dupnik said: "I'd just like to say that when you look at unbalanced people, how they are - how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths, about tearing down the government, the anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous."

As the Post's Peter Wallsten wrote last week Dupnik, 75, who has been the sheriff for three decades, is no stranger to controversy. He loudly opposed Arizona's strict new immigration laws, calling them "racist." Since the shooting, he has been critical of the political right, including Sarah Palin, for pumping up rhetoric and creating an environment that could lead unstable people to violence.