A Republican candidate in the Maricopa County Sheriff’s race, Mike Crawford, has sparked controversy once again, raising questions about his past performance and willingness to be candid with voters.
At a recent candidate event in Anthem, Crawford stunned attendees when he claimed not to be who he is.
According to attendees, when Crawford was confronted by a Republican voter about his controversial tenure as a Glendale Police Department officer, Crawford initially claimed she was confusing him with another Mike Crawford on the same force. Unfortunately for Crawford, the voter came with receipts.
“Mike Crawford was one of our first speakers,” the voter told the Arizona Daily Independent. “It was very interesting. I asked him about his Class 6 felony and why he was removed from the Motorcycle Unit and why he expunged his records. He seemed to be lying the whole time. He denied being the Michael Crawford in question. I had the proof in my hands, and I held it up. So, I asked, ‘there are two of you in the same police department at the same time?’ He answered yes.”
“He then backtracked when someone else brought up the subject and mentioned that it is public record. The man, I don’t remember his name, asked Mike if he would like to clear it up since we had the proof. Crawford then said that the information people had, referring to me, ‘probably has to do with my divorce and my ex-wife.’ I don’t know what his ex-wife has to do with it, the information is public.”
Crawford ran for Maricopa County Sheriff in 2020 and finished last in the Republican primary behind former Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the primary winner Jerry Sheridan by a full ten percentage points.
| SHERIDAN, JERRY | 122,094 | 36% |
| ARPAIO, JOE | 121,578 | 36% |
| CRAWFORD, MIKE | 88,259 | 26% |
Crawford’s career experience includes working as a police officer with the Glendale Police Department in Arizona, and as a deputy sheriff with the San Juan County Sheriff’s office.
Crawford worked for the Glendale Police Department from 1997 until he retired in 2021 as a was a line level officer, spending time in the Motor Traffic Division.
During his time with the Glendale Police, Crawford was the subject of several internal affairs investigations. While two investigations focused on his poor judgement involving the use of official vehicles, on April 27, 2004, Crawford was issued an “NOI” (Notice of Investigation) after he allegedly made a request of the Peoria Police Department to access the official police data base to run a “Wants & Warrants” check on his ex-wife’s new husband. The Peoria Police Department reported the request to Crawford’s superiors at Glendale PD. Unauthorized use of the database is a felony in the state of Arizona and can result in dismissal.
“Mike on a negative note you did not receive any internal complaints but did receive one external complaint from Peoria Police Department on 4-27-04 when you called their agency and asked to check on wants and warrants on your ex-wife’s husband. They notified our Agencies (sic) Professional Standards Unit and filed a complaint with Sergeant Genea Stephens. The complaint was sustained, and a recommendation of a Memo of Correction was given” wrote one of Crawford’s supervisors in an evaluation.
According to court documents, Crawford was the subject of three separate Personal Orders of Protection filed by his then wife and later ex-wife. Most troubling was the accusation of forced sodomy, although Crawford’s violent disposition contributed to two future orders that severely restricted and later prohibited his communication with his wife. At one point he was even forbidden to drop his kids off at their mother’s house like a normal father and was required to drop his kids at the curb and remain in his vehicle.