AZ Sheriff Joe Arpaio Agrees to Pay $200,000 in Profiling Case

Sheriff Joe Arpaio's office has settled in a profiling case, agreeing to pay $200,000 to two men who were unjustifiably stopped by law enforcement officers. (2010 Getty Images)

A controversial Arizona sheriff whose enforcement actions against undocumented immigrants have made national headlines has reached a settlement with two men in a profiling case.

The claim which resulted in the $200,000 settlement arose from one of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's (ar-PY'-oh) worksite enforcement raids.

Deputies raided a landscaping company in search of identity-theft and fraud suspects Feb. 11, 2009. They stopped Julian and Julio Mora's pickup truck outside the business.

A federal judge later determined the deputies had no reason to stop the men or detain them for nearly three hours.

Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona tell The Arizona Republic the settlement should send a message to police agencies that engage in discriminatory practices.

Sheriff's office attorney Tim Casey says officials couldn't identify the deputies who made the stop, which made it impossible to defend the merits of the stop.

This is based on a story by The Associated Press. 

Follow us on twitter.com/foxnewslatino
Like us at facebook.com/foxnewslatino