Arizona Senate hopeful to serve Arpaio with lawsuit

A community organizer who has feuded publicly with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio plans to serve the sheriff’s office with a lawsuit Wednesday.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Randy Parraz contends in the lawsuit filed earlier this month that he was wrongfully arrested by sheriff’s deputies in 2008.

Parraz’s suit accuses Maricopa County and five sheriff’s deputies of malicious prosecution, retaliatory prosecution and abuse of process. Arpaio is not a defendant.

At the time, Parraz was the leader of an anti-Arpaio activist group. He was arrested after protesting a request by sheriff’s officials to leave county property. A judge dismissed the case.

An Arpaio spokesman says the sheriff’s office doesn’t comment on pending lawsuits.