Joe Arpaio's boys are 'up here,' while the rest of us are 'down here'

In Arizona, the shenanigans of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office are an open embarassment. Well, I take that back. Some people actually cheer on Generalissimo Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his merry band of third-world-style goons, but the fact that they abuse prisoners, stage events for the camera, spy on opponents and engage in overall civil rights violations is no secret. So there's little surprise when an MCSO officer tells a journalist, "We're not on the same level, here. I'm up here, you're down here," right before stealing his equipment.

Too bad for the officer that modern technology ensured the video remained secure and accessible to Radio KASA's Carlos Galindo, even as the equipment was confiscated.

The MCSO's excuse for taking the equipment was to protect the identity of supposed undercover officers sweeping through Phoenix's Gran Mercado. But not only is the "undercover officer" claim one that is wielded all too frequently, without regard to the actual presence of such officers -- it's one that, in the end, is a police concern, not a public directive. People are free to photograph and videorecord police in public spaces so long as they stay out of the way. It's up to the cops to cover their faces.

Though you wouldn't always know that from official conduct.

View the video yourself and make up your own opinion.

Incidentally, this isn't Galindo's first go-round with the MCSO. As an immigrant-rights activist as well as a journalist, he's almost certainly on Arpaio and company's radar.