bedeviled

Since taking office, he’s grappled with many of the same problems that bedeviled prior sheriffs: poor jail conditions, sprawling consent decrees, allegations about deputy gangs and persistent staffing woes.

Racism has bedeviled this continent for centuries, but demagogues who seek power through raw resentment fail all the time.

When Fernandez, the sergeant who also served in the unit, took the stand, he faced questions about his tattoos and whether they signified membership in any of the deputy gangs or subgroups that have bedeviled the Sheriff’s Department for half a century.

The action is prefaced by a Looney Tunes-ish cartoon entitled “Me and My Shadow,” depicting Arthur bedeviled by his own shadow, which is more powerful than he is.

Immigration reform has bedeviled presidents of both parties for decades.