The Republican governor would not say whether he backs President Donald Trump's pardon of Arpaio in a case where a federal judge found him guilty of ignoring a court order.
The 2011 order required Arpaio to stop immigration patrols amid complaints that he was racially profiling Latinos. The judge ruled in 2013 that Arpaio's deputies used unconstitutional racial profiling in the patrols.
Ducey again called Arpaio a friend and pointed to a statement he issued after Friday's pardon crediting Arpaio with lowering crime. But he pushed back when he was asked whether backing Arpaio overlooked the state's Latino population, many of whom felt terrorized by the sheriff's immigration patrols.
"Everything we have done in our administration is standing up for all of the citizens of Arizona. Our administration has been about opportunity for all," he said. "Whether that's making a better economic climate where they can find a job or where their child can go the school of their choice."
