Pubdate: Tue, 31 Jan 2012 Source: Windsor Star (CN ON) Copyright: 2012 The Windsor Star Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/PTv2GKdw Website: http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/501 Author: Douglas Quan, Postmedia News RCMP DROPS U.S. DRUG TRAINING PLAN The RCMP has scrapped plans to send hundreds of officers to Arizona for training in recognizing and testing drugimpaired drivers after learning that the sheriff 's office they had partnered with has been accused of engaging in "unconstitutional policing." A scathing U.S. Department of Justice report recently concluded that the Maricopa County Sheriff 's Office in Phoenix engages in racial profiling of Latinos, unlawfully stops and arrests Latinos and unlawfully retaliates against individuals who criticize the force. An RCMP official stressed Monday that at no time were Maricopa County sheriff 's officers going to be involved in teaching the Canadians and that the only role of the sheriff 's office was to provide access to people in custody at a remand centre who could be evaluated for drug-impairment. Still, the seriousness of the allegations prompted the RCMP to cancel its training sessions in Arizona, said Insp. Allan Lucier. "It was almost immediate after having read the report that this would not be a facility that we would associate ourselves with," he said. Officer Christopher Hegstrom, a spokesman for the sheriff 's office - whose commander, Joe Arpaio, likes to call himself "America's toughest sheriff" and has received a lot of attention for his tough approach to illegal immigration - said Monday in a statement that the accusations against the force are unproven and overstated by a "sensationalistic press, and so far represent mere words uttered by administration officials in Washington, D.C." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.