(August 23, 2023) Budget back-and-forth: Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told the board of supervisors during Monday’s meeting that they underfunded his department by nearly $5 million for the fiscal year that just began, KOLD’s Bud Foster reports. Nanos’ comments come after months of budget talks between the sheriff and supervisors. Nanos said the shortfall comes as a result of the county refusing to approve $2.8 million in inflation costs for next year and reducing the budget by $2.1 million because of the department’s 180 vacancies.
(September 14, 2023) Delay debacle: The Pima County Deputy’s union is accusing Sheriff Chris Nanos of delaying an internal investigation into a former sergeant’s alleged sexual assault of a deputy, the Arizona Daily Star’s Charles Borla writes. The union says a criminal investigation was opened immediately, but that Nanos put an internal investigation into the sergeant’s actions “on hold.” Nanos called the claims “wild accusations.”
(September 18, 2023) Nanos under fire: Pima County supervisors will discuss during Tuesday’s meeting whether to request an independent investigation by the Arizona Attorney General or the Arizona Department of Public Safety into Sheriff Chris Nanos’ “alleged failure to conduct a timely and thorough investigation into the alleged sexual assault of a female deputy.” The agenda item comes on the heels of a letter from the deputy’s union saying that while a criminal investigation was opened immediately, Nanos put an internal investigation into the sergeant’s actions “on hold.” If supervisors approve the request, this will be the second time the department has been the subject of an outside investigation during Nanos’ tenure as sheriff.
(September 20, 2023) Here we go again. It may be 2023, but with Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos once again the subject of an investigation by an outside agency, we can’t help but wonder if this is history repeating itself. Pima County supervisors voted yesterday to request an outside investigation into Nanos’ “alleged failure to conduct a timely and thorough investigation into the alleged sexual assault of a female deputy.” The vote comes on the heels of a statement from the deputy’s union, saying Nanos put “on hold” the victim’s request for an internal investigation into the actions of her supervisors. This is Nanos’ second stint as sheriff, and it’s also now the second time his actions have come under investigation by an outside agency. (Tucson Agenda)
(October 4, 2023) Taking the next step: The Pima County supervisors voted to seek an outside investigation of how Sheriff Chris Nanos handled an internal review of the alleged sexual assault of a deputy by a sergeant, the Arizona Daily Star’s Charles Borla reports. The lone vote against seeking the investigation came from Supervisor Rex Scott, who said he was concerned it would interfere with ongoing criminal and civil investigations of the sergeant.
(October 4, 2023) Politics aside: Sheriff’s deputies will still provide security at the county supervisors’ meetings, the Tucson Sentinel’s Paul Ingram reports. That was a reversal of a decision Nanos made after Supervisor Sharon Bronson requested an outside inquiry of how Nanos handled the internal review. Nanos said he pulled the deputy due to his department’s financial constraints and he wanted to protect them from “politics.”
(October 12, 2023) A year ago, seeing a dentist was a difficult and even dehumanizing experience for kids and teens being held at Pima County’s Juvenile Detention Complex. Getting a guardian’s permission for an off-site appointment was a complicated process and the patient had to wear shackles and be accompanied by a corrections officer during the visit. And even though the complex only houses about 20 youths at a time these days, county officials have long been looking for a way to simplify the process and turn visiting the dentist into a positive experience. Thanks to a $100,000 grant from the American Rescue Plan Act, they’ve finally been able to do that, with last year’s rollout of the Juvenile Correctional Dental Program. (Tucson Agenda)
(November 21, 2023) Unequal treatment: A new report from the advocacy group No More Deaths found that the Pima County Sheriff’s Department has a history of not responding to calls from lost migrants, Arizona Public Media’s Danyelle Khmara reports. A review of thousands of distress calls showed a segregated and discriminatory system where calls are treated differently based on the location of the call and the caller’s ability to speak English. Sheriff Chris Nanos has disputed the report, saying proximity to another agency is the only thing that factors into the decision of whether to transfer a call.
(November 3, 2023) Two for two: The Arizona Attorney General’s Office will be criminally investigating Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos’ handling of an investigation into the sexual assault of a female deputy, Arizona Public Media’s Hannah Cree reports. This is the second time in his two turns as sheriff that Nanos has been investigated by an outside agency.
(December 1, 2023) Freedom of the press?: Pima County Sheriff’s deputies arrested KJZZ reporter Alisa Reznick and 25 others yesterday while she was covering a pro-Palestinian protest at the UA Tech Park off Rita Road, KJZZ’s Ben Giles reports. Reznick was wearing a press pass and identified herself as a reporter. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos defended the deputies involved, saying after protesters had blockaded the road, Reznick and the protesters were warned to leave.
(January 2) Weighing in: The Pima County Adult Detention Center Blue Ribbon Commission is seeking public input in on what the county should do about the jail, the Arizona Luminaria’s John Washington reports. The commission’s initial report released last month suggests the only options are to remodel or build a new jail, which could cost upwards of $380 million. The report cited several “critical areas of concern,” including the condition of housing units, overcrowding, staffing and lack of space for medical, mental health and detoxification services. The public survey closes Jan. 13.
(January 16) Not his biggest fans: A group representing more than half of the Pima County Sheriff Department’s deputies has issued a vote of no confidence in Sheriff Chris Nanos, with 98.8% of members signing on. A news release from the organization lists several grievances, including general mismanagement, his handling of a deputy’s alleged sexual assault by her sergeant, the decline of the jail under his leadership and other issues.
(January 21) Dueling opinions: The day after the Pima County Deputy’s Organization announced its vote of no confidence in Sheriff Chris Nanos’ leadership, a second group voiced support for Nanos and refuted claims of a toxic workplace, Arizona Public Media’s Hannah Cree reports. While there are five unions within the department, the Pima County Sheriff’s Deputy Association is the one that holds bargaining power with the Pima County Board of Supervisors. The association has been active since 1997 and has about 170 members, while the deputy’s organization was started last year and has just over 200 members.
(February 5) The county supervisors are set to approve $100,000 for the legal defense of the sheriff’s department and the deputies who fatally shot Bradley Lewis, 19, in 2021. The Lewis family filed a lawsuit claiming deputies used excessive force. Deputies said they mistook Lewis’ key fob for a gun and opened fire after Lewis charged them, but the family says the shooting could not have unfolded as deputies said. The sheriff’s department didn’t have body-worn cameras at the time, so there is no video evidence. The county has now set aside $350,000 for legal representation in the lawsuit.
(March 7) Digging deeper: An investigator with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office has been interviewing people in the Pima County Sheriff’s Department in connection with the handling of an alleged sexual assault of a deputy by her sergeant, KVOA’s Lupita Murillo reports. Supervisor Rex Scott told Murillo that he and other board members were interviewed about their investigation into the department. Sheriff Chris Nanos says he plans to conduct an internal investigation after the criminal investigation is over.
(April 24) Call to protest: Defense attorneys for four people arrested during a November protest against the Israel-Hamas war say the Pima County Sheriff’s Department violated their clients’ religious freedoms, Arizona Public Media’s Hannah Cree reports. The defendants’ motion to have their charges dropped says they’re “persons of sincere religious conviction who were motivated by their religious beliefs.” The group includes an ordained minister, two practicing Christians and a Jewish man who is working towards becoming a Rabbi.
(May 6) This is an intriguing one. The County Attorney’s Office wants an executive session to discuss whether to make public a March 13 memo written by Deputy County Attorney Sean Holguin. It has to do with Sheriff Chris Nanos being able to adopt a deflection program. There aren’t any other details in the agenda item, but deflection programs are meant to help people avoid ending up in jail for issues like substance abuse that could be better dealt with by a social service organization. Deflection programs have been one of Nanos’ priorities since his 2020 election. (Tucson Agenda)
(May 6) The city and county reached a deal on how to spend the opioid settlement money. The Pima County supervisors and the Tucson City Council are going to vote on an intergovernmental agreement at each of their meetings Tuesday. The county was set to get $48 million from a nationwide settlement with pharmaceutical companies, but the decision on how to spend a lot of the money was delayed as they worked with other local governments to come up with a collaborative approach. Sarah Launius, the director of community safety, health and wellness for the city, laid out a detailed framework for how best to combat the fentanyl epidemic that ranges from how to collect data to providing better care in the county jail. (Tucson Agenda)
(May 8) When most people think of Arizona sheriffs, dusky-haired men wearing cowboy hats and boots usually come to mind, in large part because that’s what most of them have looked like. In fact, Pima County has never had a woman sheriff, but Heather Lappin is hoping to change that. A 19-year veteran of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, Lappin is running as a Republican and facing three other challengers in the race to replace Democrat Chris Nanos as the county’s top cop. (Tucson Agenda)