Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is no stranger to controversy

As the hunt for missing Nancy Guthrie nears the two-week mark, Nanos is facing increased scrutiny. And it’s not the first time he’s been in the hot seat. New reports and court records show the sheriff has been embroiled in controversy several times over the past decade.

A history of controversy

In the weeks leading up to his 2024 re-election, Nanos placed opponent Heather Lappin on administrative leave, ordering her not to discuss the reasoning for his decision. He did the same to Sgt. Aaron Cross, an outspoken opponent of his. Lappin has since filed a lawsuit against Nanos, claiming he waged a retaliatory campaign against her career to undermine her candidacy.

Cross also filed a lawsuit, claiming Nanos intentionally or recklessly allowed an employment action against him that deprived him of his First Amendment right to freedom of speech. Both cases are ongoing.

Past investigations

In 2015, the FBI investigated the department for misuse of civil asset forfeiture funds. Chief Deputy Chris Radtke was indicted on federal charges and accused of wrongly using hundreds of thousands of dollars of the forfeited assets. Nanos was never charged, but he did give a fiery interview to KGUN, sharply rebuking the FBI.

Guthrie investigation

During the Guthrie investigation, Nanos has been accused of slow-rolling the FBI’s involvement and wrongly shipping evidence to a private lab in Florida instead of to the FBI’s headquarters in Quantico, Virginia. He denied these claims in an interview with Fox News’ Matt Finn.