ARIZONA

Judge finds sheriff, aides to be in contempt

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and three of his top officials were found to be in civil contempt on Friday after a federal judge ruled that they violated court orders stemming from a 2007 racial profiling case.

The case centers on allegations that under Arpaio, who has courted controversy in the past with anti-illegal-immigration tactics, the sheriff’s office failed to comply with a judge’s orders meant to curb racial profiling of Latino drivers.

Arpaio, 83, and his three top aides were found in civil contempt by U.S. District Judge Murray Snow after a series of hearings into their conduct.

The sheriff was cited for three counts of contempt in the court’s order. Chief Deputy Jerry Sheridan was found to have committed two counts of contempt, and retired executive chief Brian Sands and Lt. Joseph Sousa were cited for one count each.

Arpaio and Sheridan have admitted to violating court orders but maintained that it was unintentional.

The handgun used in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin is seen this handout photo provided by the State Attorney's Office on May 17, 2012. (Handout/Reuters)

The lawman, who styles himself “America’s toughest sheriff,” and his office face a variety of potential sanctions including fines, restitution for those harmed by the actions and tighter oversight of daily operations.

— Reuters

ALABAMA

Assault charges dropped against officer

A judge has dismissed state charges against a North Alabama police officer accused of assaulting an Indian man during a suspicious person investigation.

Limestone County District Judge Douglas Patterson dismissed the case against 27-year-old Eric Parker on Thursday afternoon.

Parker was recorded slamming Sureshbhai Patel, 58, to the ground in February 2015. Patel was out for a walk in his son’s suburban Huntsville neighborhood and was approached by police after a neighbor who called 911 reported a thin black man walking through the area looking at houses. Parker has said Patel resisted him.

Two federal civil rights trials against Parker ended in hung juries before he was acquitted. Madison Police Chief Larry Muncey was found guilty of contempt in April for talking to Parker’s colleagues about their testimonies in his first trial.

— Associated Press

In this Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013, file photo, George Zimmerman, acquitted in the high-profile killing of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, listens in court, in Sanford, Fla., during his hearing. (Joe Burbank/AP)

FLORIDA

Possible Web trolls bid on Zimmerman’s gun

Bidding in an online auction for the pistol former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman used to kill Trayvon Martin appeared to have been hijacked by fake accounts posting astronomically high bids.

At one point early Friday, the bidding surpassed $65 million with the leading bidder using the screen name “Racist McShootFace.” The site later showed that account had been deleted.

Other screen names of bidders on the site included “Donald Trump,” “shaniqua bonifa” and “Tamir Rice,” the name of a black 12-year-old who was shot and killed by Cleveland police in 2014 while playing with a pellet gun.

The website for United Gun Group began hosting the auction Thursday after another website, GunBroker.com, took down the auction.

— Associated Press