TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Pima Supervisors raising questions about how Sheriff Chris Nanos operates got some answers Tuesday. The Sheriff’s lawyers sent a 24 page letter. Now it’s up to Supervisors to read the response and make a response of their own.
Pima Supervisors used a law that dates to when Arizona was a Federal territory, not a state. It allows County Supervisors to require other county elected officials to report on any questions the Supervisors want answered.
In this case they had questions about whether Nanos lied about his record with El Paso Police when he applied to begin his career with the Pima Sheriff’s Department many years ago. He had been suspended several times in El Paso before he resigned.
The letter from Nanos attorney says Nanos did not hide his record and still passed the vetting Arizona requires for a law enforcement officer. He says when he denied the suspension as part of a lawsuit deposition he thought he was being asked about his Arizona history which has no suspensions.
Supervisors want to know more about Nanos suspending Lt Heather Lappin while she was running against him in the last Sheriff’s election. He claimed Lappin violated department policy in several different ways.
The letter says Lappin’s suspension was approved by a panel that included Sheriff’s Command staff, members of a citizens review board, employee association members and an attorney from the Pima County Attorney’s office all approved the suspension. The Sheriff says Lappin appealed through a grievance and lost.
Supervisors also want to know whether deputies cooperated with Federal immigration officials like Border Patrol. That’s a violation of county policy. The question is based in part on an allegation that deputies detained immigrants and handed them to Border Patrol.
Nanos letter does not specifically address that claim but says deputies do not cooperate with immigration officials by holding suspects for immigration violations but if the department receives public safety calls that involve immigration, it may refer the call to ICE or Border Patrol.
Supervisors also questioned Nanos exceeding his county budget. The letter claims over five budget years Nanos spent less than his full budget three times but overspent in one year when Supervisors gave corrections officers a raise after approving his budget and another year when Supervisors reduced his budget.
Because supervisors received the letter late in their Tuesday meeting, they’ll consider it in their next meeting next month.
