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ELECTION 2008: Border Patrol union, unhappy with Corbett case, endorses Norm Bradley

By Bill Hess
Herald/Review
Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 - 09:11:48 am MST

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SIERRA VISTA — In a letter released Saturday, the local U.S. Border Patrol union criticized Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever and endorsed his Democratic opponent, Norm Bradley.

Signed by National Border Patrol Council Local 2544 President Edward Tuffly, the letter states Dever “failed miserably in the proper supervision and training of some of his employees.”

The letter specifically mentions “botched investigations and sloppy police work performed by some of his detectives.”

Dever said the union is unhappy with the work done by the Sheriff’s Office’s detectives in investigating the case involving Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Corbett. He is currently on trial in Tucson for his involvement in the death of an illegal Mexican immigrant who was shot after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

Tuffly confirmed Dever’s point, telling the Herald/Review on Monday that Corbett is on trial because of what he calls the unprofessional investigation done by the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office.

The main point was that the department’s detectives never discovered gloves that the victim reportedly was wearing. Corbett says he was threatened by a rock held by the illegal immigrant.

The gloves were not discovered until more than a year later, the local union president said.

While Dever said his detectives did not do a thorough job when they responded to the scene, he also said the union told Corbett not to “cooperate with our investigation or with the FBI’s.”

Dever said there is more evidence that was presented to the Cochise County attorney, and the decision to prosecute was based on more than the gloves.

The union’s seven-member executive board voted unanimously to endorse Bradley after he asked for it. Tuffly said the committee’s endorsement, representing the 1,000-member union, wasn’t based only on the Corbett issue, noting there are other management problems in the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office.

Speaking to those issues was the union’s executive vice president, Brandon Judd, a Cochise County resident and Border Patrol agent.

Judd is the second cousin of the late Jimmy Judd, who for years was Cochise County sheriff and Dever’s mentor. Judd said Dever has mismanaged funds to hire enough deputies, putting county residents in danger by not having enough protection.

Dever disagrees, noting he has used every dollar provided to him by the Cochise County supervisors and other sources in building up the number of deputies in the department.

With ever-tightening budgets, a request for an additional 24 deputies this fiscal year was denied by the Board of Supervisors, the sheriff said. Of the 86 deputies currently authorized, 80 positions are filled and efforts are being made to fill the six vacancies, Dever said.

Judd said in some cases Border Patrol agents respond to county calls and wait up to an hour before a deputy arrives. He said the county would be better served by Bradley as sheriff.

Dever said on some occasions his deputies wait for two hours for Border Patrol agents to respond to take illegal immigrants off their hands. He also said he has built the department up by providing more pay and by adding deputy positions.

On July 1, Dever received the endorsement of the Arizona State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, based on a vote of the membership, after Cochise County members of the organization recommended the endorsement.

On Oct. 21, Bradley also received the endorsement of the executive board of Arizona Conference of Police and Sheriffs Local 7077.

Affiliates of AZCOPS can choose to endorse candidates on their own. For example, Sierra Vista Police Officers Association president Cpl. Anthony Venditto said his group has chosen not to endorse either candidate.

Herald/Review senior reporter Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.

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SVH EDITOR wrote on Nov 1, 2008 8:37 AM:

" EDITOR'S NOTE: Per previously stated elections policy, comments are now closed "

Border Patrol wrote on Oct 31, 2008 10:20 PM:

" The BP does an important job for the Country - unfortunately this sometimes requires the use of deadly force. When any member of law enforcement uses deadly force it must be investigated. Hopefully evidence will show that Corbett acted in self defense and the jury will find him innocent. The other unfortunate thing is that the union uses this as a rallying point to try to grow membership,increase revenue, politicize the incident, and press their agenda. It takes strong man to stand up to that pressure and do the right thing. Sheriff Dever is that man. "

Dever vs. Fed Boys wrote on Oct 31, 2008 12:21 PM:

" It’s very clear that the Fed Boys are seeking this opportunity to discredit the Sheriff, based on courage to prosecute a Fed Boy. Let’s face it, the Border Patrol is trying hard to win public trust, but statements from Edward Tuffly and Brandon Judd on this edition of the daily news is a dirty underhand political pull in favor of Norm Bradley. I had no plans in voting for either person, but I rather stand with one person to expose cover up and corruption then that to sit with 1000 strong weak boys…crying shame. "

Dont Knock Unions wrote on Oct 31, 2008 12:21 PM:

" Arizona is a right to work state, but what that does is allow employees to participate or not in union activities. Attempting to intimidate employees from belonging to the union of their choice is against the law and covert/overt efforts of an official of a government entity or business for that matter, to keep a union out is also subject to review under the law. Because of the restrictions in law, unions of public employees have few tools at their disposable to bargain with. The most effective is informing the public of conditions and supporting candidates. "

Look beyond wrote on Oct 31, 2008 11:54 AM:

" I for one had to start looking beyond our city limits. We have a great police department. When talking with people living outside the city I found they do not get very good coverage. Some calls take days to get responded to yet I see deputies in town all the time making traffic stops. Deputies are responsable for the county and should be out there helping those in need. "

Voting wrote on Oct 31, 2008 8:20 AM:

" This race does not matter republican or democrat. What matters is good law enforcement for Cochise County. Only one person has spoke about the needs of the county and that is Bradley. One person has been endorsed by nearly every law enforement agency in the county, Bradley. He also has the most executive experience. "

St David reader wrote on Oct 31, 2008 12:23 AM:

" When I read this article I thought the endorsement letter would read like an indictment of the Corbett investigation. To my dismay I discovered the endorsement does not mention Corbett once. NOT ONCE! So what endorsement letter did "reporter" Hess read? What about the other examples of subpar performance the Border Patrol outlined to Hess? I once considered this writer and this newspaper the County's best. But I've read better in high school papers. Where was the factual balance? Where was the objectivity? You Herald boys let the voters, your readers, and your advertisers down big time. "

Beware of Union Endorsments wrote on Oct 30, 2008 11:26 PM:

" Taken directly form AZCOPS web site -Arizona law enforcement employees should accumulate the greatest possible political power in order to play on a level playing field when dealing with their public employers. Politics is the name of the game in Arizona.....there's a reason not a single Sheriff belongs to AZCOPS. Voters don't want unions running their Sheriff's Dept. There's a reason they support Bradley and not Dever. Dever has and will stand up to them. Rather than accept their endorsement the Democrat should repudiate them. Keep Cochise County law enforcemnet out of the hands of AZCOPS - vote for Dever. "

Police and Sheriffs wrote on Oct 30, 2008 9:01 PM:

" With the Arizona Sheriff's endorsement I beleive it is time for a change. If other sheriff's will not endorse one of their own time has come for him to step aside. There are too many coincidences here to beleive the sheriff had no information about Hager before Oct 2007. Bradley has at least five law enforcement endorsements. Dever has one. This says more that enough. "

Bad idea wrote on Oct 30, 2008 10:39 AM:

" The sheriff critizing the union here is uncalled for. The sheriff was conducting a criminal investigation and undersuch Corbett had the same rights as any one else. He had the right to an attorney. Dever saying he did not cooperate is wrong. What is even worse is the sheriff's admission his deputies did not do a thourogh job in this investigation. But he blames the union. This is another example of a poor decision by the sheriff. "

Dever for Sheriff wrote on Oct 30, 2008 8:11 AM:

" AZCOPS is another left leaning liberal union organization. For instance the Maricopa County Deputies Association belongs to AZCOPS - they both endorse the Democrat challenger to the Republican Arpaio. As for the BP Local 2544 - look at their website and read all the trash they have to say about their own leadership - you'll soon understand their agenda. They propogate a very unhealthy "officer vs. leadership" mentality. The FOP endorses the candidates that represent tough, conservative pricipled law enforcement. Keep law enforcement in the hands of the people and out of the hands of the unions. "

Questioning wrote on Oct 29, 2008 11:07 PM:

" I would like to also know why the caption to this article. It shows a bias for the current sheriff. Read the whole endorsement and you will see just how off base this caption is. There are more endorsements from law enforcement for Bradley than Dever. Why is this paper asking the real rasons behind this instead of hedging their bet for Dever? I have voted for him in the past but the bias here is changing my mind. "

Leon wrote on Oct 29, 2008 8:47 PM:

" The BP union is not "liberal". Look at the Local 2544 endorsements. Arpaio, Andy Thomas, Brad Roach, and a ton of other "conservative" Republicans. As a matter of fact, Norm Bradley is the only Democrat that they've endorsed according the their website. Sounds like "Dever for Sheriff" has failed to do his or her homework. Their website lists a heck of a lot more than "gloves" in that horribly botched investigation too. "

One endorsement wrote on Oct 29, 2008 6:42 PM:

" One endorsement seals this race. The Executive Board of the Arizona Conference of Police and Sheriff's endorsed Bradley. When they won't endorse the sheriff there is a problem. This paper should look into this endorsemtn and the reason behind it.
Forget the rest of this mess. "

Republican wrote on Oct 29, 2008 6:11 PM:

" To "Dever for Sheriff" What do you think the FOP is, It's a union and they endorsed Dever. In case you don't know FOP is the Fraternal Order of Police. The rest of the law enforcement community sees a need for change and chose NOT to endorse good ole boy Larry!
Vote Bradley for Sheriff. "

Big Al wrote on Oct 29, 2008 5:52 PM:

" It's funney how the Herald with a comma or two, changes the headline to make it appear to the readers that the Border Patrol is grinding an axe by endorsing Bradley. I would rather the herald print the entire endorsement and let us make up our own minds. No they would rather try to sway our votes by a misleading headline. Nice try, but I gave already voted, GO BRADLEY! "

Nonsense wrote on Oct 29, 2008 1:47 PM:

" Read the entire endorsemnt by the Border Patrol. It is not based on the Corbett case as the headline makes it appear. It is based on thier dealings with Dever over the past twelve years. This is a professional organization that has to deal daily with the Sheriff's office. What is the Arizona Conference of Police and Sheriff's upset with Dever about? They endorsed Bradley. What is Giffords upset about? Don't blame agencies for the sheriff's failures. "

I Dont Understand More wrote on Oct 29, 2008 1:45 PM:

" If you are going to point out Brandon Judd's relationship to former Sheriff Judd why was Larry Dever's relationship not also brought? At some level Brandon Judd and Larry Dever and Jimmie Judd are all cousins. "

Dever for Sheriff wrote on Oct 29, 2008 12:01 PM:

" Cochise County voters are smart enough to understand what is behind union endorsements. Unions are historically left leaning and anti-leadership. They propogate the "us against them" mentallity that is fed by the socialist liberal left. Their sole agenda is higher pay for less work. As a lib who wants to turn the Sheriffs Department into a social service agency - the Democrat candidate is selling out the residents of Cochise County for union endorsements. Keep law enforcment out of the hands of the unions! Vote for Sheriff Dever. "

change wrote on Oct 29, 2008 11:26 AM:

" Bradley has also been endorsed by the Benson Police Officer Assn, Douglas Police Officer Assn and Sierra Vista Police Officer Assn. It looks as all law enforcement in this county sees a need for a new sheriff. I hope the public is just as smart and votes for a change. "

ghost writer wrote on Oct 29, 2008 10:46 AM:

" Duffy quit your whining even the Border Patrol is not above the law. "

I think wrote on Oct 29, 2008 9:36 AM:

" I think one of the biggest mistakes that Denver's officers made was not to seperate the illegals who participated in and witnessed the event. Even those of us who just watch TV crime shows know that you should immediately seperate witnesss so they do not agree on a collaborative account of events. "

SVH EDITOR wrote on Oct 29, 2008 9:11 AM:

" EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the late publication date of this story, comments will be allowed until midnight, Oct. 31, 2008. "

Dont Understand wrote on Oct 29, 2008 7:11 AM:

" If you are going to pick apart a letter of endorsement why not print it so that a person can make their own determination if your's or Dever's assesment are valid? Why no mention of Giffords endorsing Bradley? "

JM wrote on Oct 29, 2008 6:43 AM:

" That's a start. What other elected/appointed officials are involved in this railroading? Give us some names so we can assist them in finding new jobs. "

Herald As Usual wrote on Oct 29, 2008 6:24 AM:

" Funny how the BP endorsed Bradley several days ago, but the Herald only now publishes the fact after public comments are no longer accepted by the Herald. "

Common Sense wrote on Oct 29, 2008 5:50 AM:

" With the largest influx of illegals going thru this county, causing accidents, crime, and medical cost for the taxpayers, the law enforcement agency that knows best, the Border Patrol, endorsed the right canidate. "