PHOENIX (AP) - The Latest on a negative TV commercial run by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio against challenger Paul Penzone (all times local):
4:37 p.m.
The Democrat in the Maricopa County sheriff’s race has alleged in a lawsuit filed Thursday that Sheriff Joe Arpaio defamed him in a new commercial that alleges the challenger assaulted his ex-wife 13 years ago during an argument.
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Penzone vigorously denied the allegations made in the commercial that Sheriff Joe Arpaio started running this week.
Arpaio ran a similar ad when Penzone unsuccessfully challenged him in 2012.
No charges were filed in the dispute.
Penzone’s then-estranged wife told police in 2003 that he caused her to hit her forehead by pushing her on a doorway.
Penzone told police that it was his wife who hit him in the head during the dispute with a hockey stick.
Arpaio attorney Kory Langhofer called the lawsuit a political stunt.
4:19 p.m.
The campaigns in the Maricopa County sheriff’s race are trading barbs over a negative TV ad that claims Democrat Paul Penzone assaulted his ex-wife 13 years ago during an argument.
Penzone vigorously denied the allegations made in the commercial that Sheriff Joe Arpaio started running this week.
The challenger called a news conference to announce a defamation lawsuit against Arpaio over the ad. Arpaio’s campaign held its own news conference moments later as attorney Kory Langhofer called the planned lawsuit a political stunt.
It was unclear Thursday whether the complaint had yet been filed.
No charges were filed in the dispute. Penzone’s then-estranged wife told police in 2003 that he caused her to hit her forehead by pushing her on a doorway.
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