As of today, Tuesday, June 9, 2015, Maricopa County Sheriff Joseph M. Arpaio has officially become the longest serving Sheriff in county history.

Arpaio is a Fountain Hills resident.

The Office of Sheriff of Maricopa County has been in existence since 1893 and has seen 35 previous Sheriffs, including 34 men and one woman.

In that time, the Office has grown to be the third largest Sheriff’s Office in all the United States.

Arpaio took office as the 36th sheriff on Jan. 1, 1993 and thus on this day, June 9, 2015, has served this community in his capacity as Sheriff for 22 and one half years, longer than any other person in the county’s history.

On Tuesday there was a ceremony at the Sheriff’s headquarters in downtown Phoenix to recognize the Sheriff’s milestone. The event was emceed by Arizona historian Marshall Trimble.

Arpaio’s time in office as of Tuesday totaled 22 and one half years equal to 196,656 hours or 11,799,360 minutes.