Sheriff leading Nancy Guthrie probe admits quitting past police job to dodge discipline
The lawyer for Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, who is helming the months-long search for missing Nancy Guthrie, has responded to a list of concerns from local leaders about the top cop's leadership.
Nanos acknowledged through his attorney that he resigned from the El Paso Police Department in 1982 to avoid a three-day suspension for insubordination, while defending apparent inconsistencies in his sworn deposition testimony about his disciplinary history.
On April 7, the Pima County Board of Supervisors demanded the sheriff answer questions after allegations of perjury emerged following his deposition in a First Amendment lawsuit brought against him by the president of the Pima County Deputies Association, Sgt. Aaron Cross.
Nanos stated under oath that he had never been suspended as a result of disciplinary action while working as a law enforcement officer.
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According to an April 21 letter from his lawyer, James Cool, he misunderstood the question.
Nanos has never been suspended from the Pima County Sheriff's Department in a career that began in 1984. Cool acknowledged that he was suspended repeatedly in his prior role at the El Paso Police Department in Texas, a job he resigned from in 1982 to avoid further disciplinary action.
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"It is 100% correct that Sheriff Nanos was never suspended during his four decades of decorated and faithful service with the Pima County Sheriff's Department ('PCSD')," Cool wrote in a 12-page letter to the board. "However, Sheriff Nanos was suspended more than forty years ago while employed by El Paso Police Department. In the context of his live deposition, Sheriff Nanos did not understand the question related to discipline with a different agency not governed by the Arizona Peace Officer's Bill of Rights."
Nanos' lawyers accused Cross and former PCSD Lt. Heather Lappin, Nanos' most recent election challenger, of "sustained findings of misconduct."
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"Chock full of lies," Cross said of Cool's letter. "But did you notice it wasn't a sworn statement, as required?"
The board voted on April 7 to have Nanos answer questions "under oath."
County board members have questioned whether Nanos used his position to interfere with the election and wrongfully targeted Lappin for investigation during the campaign.
Attached to the letter, Cool included a copy of a March 11 note from the Justice Department informing County Administrator Jan Lesher that the former U.S. attorney for Arizona under the Biden administration found "no federal predicate" for a criminal investigation into the election allegations.
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"We have no further response to provide beyond what was already communicated in December 2024," current U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Timothy Courchaine wrote.
Cool defended Nanos' handling of the sheriff's department budget, argued that the sheriff should not have to answer all of the board's questions in a public setting, and downplayed concerns of retaliation against Cross and Lappin. Both of them have pending lawsuits.
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Cool also included a copy of Nanos' 1984 resume, which lists his hobbies as "boxing, fishing, pool, crosswords and physical exercise."
After leaving the El Paso Police Department, Nanos worked briefly in sales and then as a security guard before joining the PCSD in 1984 as a corrections officer.
Guthrie is believed to have been abducted from her home in the Catalina Foothills, north of Tucson, Arizona, in the early hours of Feb. 1. A masked intruder appears on doorbell camera video. Her back door was found propped open the following morning. Her whereabouts remain unknown.
She is the mother of "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie, who has put $1 million toward the combined reward for finding her.