Package for Sheriff Joe Arpaio posed a serious threat, authorities say

A postal carrier collected the suspicious package, which was addressed to Sheriff Joe Arpaio, on Thursday evening. The FBI and other agencies are investigating the case.

By Allison Terry,?Correspondent / April 12, 2013

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio speaks with the media in Phoenix in January. Authorities say law officers in Arizona have intercepted an explosive device that was earmarked for Arpaio.

Ross D. Franklin/AP/File

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A package addressed to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the self-described ?toughest sheriff in America,? could have caused serious injury or death if opened, Arizona authorities say.

Skip to next paragraph Allison Terry

Correspondent

Allison Terry works on national news desk for the Christian Science Monitor. She previously worked on the cover page desk and contributes to the culture section of the Monitor.

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A postal carrier collected the suspicious package Thursday evening from a parcel locker in rural Coconino County, near Flagstaff, Ariz., which was addressed to Arpaio at his office in downtown Phoenix, said Jerry Sheridan, chief deputy of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, at a news conference Friday.

The carrier brought the package to the Flagstaff post office, where postal officials X-rayed it and found an improvised explosive device. The Flagstaff Police Department bomb squad used a water cannon to neutralize the explosives, said US Postal Inspection Service spokesman Keith Moore.

Arpaio told reporters that this is not the first time he has been threatened.

?That?s the nature of the business,? he said at the news conference, citing the recent killings of Colorado?s corrections director, two Texas prosecutors, and a West Virginia sheriff.

"Of course you worry. I'm a victim, I'm a witness,? he said. ?When you convict people, the victim has to be somewhat concerned. I'm a little concerned about my family. I didn't ask for all these threats."

Sheridan said the Maricopa County Sheriff?s Office had endured ?years of threats? against Arpaio, including $4 million bounties on his head, but the bomb package raised the threats to a new "height of seriousness."

?What evidence we have indicates that had someone opened that package, it would have created a major explosion and caused serious physical injury, burns, and maybe death,? Sheridan said. ?That is a very serious threat.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/Z5b8p_cueFY/Package-for-Sheriff-Joe-Arpaio-posed-a-serious-threat-authorities-say

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