TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A murder in a remote part of Pima County has county supervisors trying to boost security in those places.
Pima County’s Sheriff says he has a tough balancing act to take care of where most of the people are, and still protect outlying areas.
For some people remote spots are not the middle of nowhere, they are the middle of exactly where they want to live. But a murder in a remote part of Pima County has Pima County Supervisors and the Sheriff, looking for better ways to protect people in those remote zones.
Paul Clifford died last Christmas Eve. He was home in Redington, on the far edge of Pima County when people came to his door. They said they had car trouble. He went to help. They repaid his help with murder. Three people are arrested and charged in his death.
Three months later, Pima Supervisor Steve Christy asked Clifford’s widow Christina to talk to the board.
She said, “We don't have regular law enforcement presence there at all. There are no patrols. There is nobody checking up on us. And unfortunately, criminals have come to know that.
She told supervisors it’s hard to call for help in remote areas like hers because cellular service is weak or not there at all. And when they can make a call, it may take two to sixteen hours for a deputy to arrive.
Pima County is looking for ways to make cell service and response times much better.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos says he’d have to place up to four deputies in each of four designated remote areas to be sure they would have quick backups. He says he doesn’t have the people or the budget to do that.
“There are needs countywide for my agency, I have to take this in a realistic approach and say the calls for service out there are very minimal, and that's a good thing. It's good to know that that community is a safe community. Do they have an event that occurs? I could have had 20 deputies out there that day. I don't think it would have stopped what occurred from occurring.”
Sheriff Nanos says what he has done is make agreements with other agencies like Pinal County that may be able to get to a scene faster, and figure out the fastest routes for his own deputies to get to a site. He says better road maintenance for roads that may wash out in monsoon can improve response too.
Supervisors have not set a date to discuss the next step in the plan.
