Jeez. This is horrible.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos is under fire for allegedly “scolding” another local official who responded to a request for information from the FBI. Seriously?!
The claim comes from the Pima County Assessor Suzanne Droubie, who spoke with the Arizona Republic on Tuesday. If you don’t know, the Assessor’s Office is in charge of identifying and valuing taxable property in the area.
When the FBI reached out to her for information amid the search for Nancy Guthrie, she happily complied… only to be BLASTED for it by the Sheriff! When she told Nanos, in a courtesy phone call, that her office’s IT team had complied with a request, she was met with a “definitely frustrated” law enforcement officer. And the reason he was so mad is SO F**KED UP!
Related: Wait, Why Haven’t We Heard 911 Calls In Nancy Guthrie’s Case Yet?!
She detailed:
“We’re sensitive to the fact that the sheriff is under a lot of stress with all of this, but yes, there was a little bit of a negative interaction. It was inferred that we were creating a lot of additional work for the Sheriff’s Department, due to us providing this information to the FBI, and then them having the responsibility to follow up on all of those leads that were provided.”
Are you frickin’ kidding?! An 84-year-old is missing, and he’s more worried about having more work to do? WTF.
By the way, this phone call happened in February — the same month Nancy was reported missing. A very critical time in the case. He should’ve been grateful for every lead he was getting!
But that wasn’t the case at all, Droubie continued:
“I felt like there was an insinuation that I had done something wrong by cooperating with the FBI. At that particular moment, I felt like I was put in a position where I felt like I almost should apologize, where I know definitely that that was not something that I should be doing.”
That said, Chris apparently told her he was working “very closely” with the FBI at the time — though we all know there’s been reports of high tension between the teams since day one!
She also noted that her previous conversations with Nanos were normally pleasant and cordial, making his call stand out even more:
“It seemed like he was very stressed, very frustrated. I wouldn’t categorize it as yelling, per se, as much as kind of scolding and expressing frustration with all of the leads he was receiving, their obligation to follow up on them, and that my office was, was actually being more harm than good by providing more leads that they just had to follow up with.”
She neglected to share the kind of information she passed along to the FBI, claiming it should stay private for the integrity of the investigation, and was not sure how many leads it may have created. She added:
“In [Nanos’] mind, it was a lot of additional work that was being created because we handed this information over.”
In February, the Sheriff’s Department revealed they were overwhelmed with tips and asked the public not to call in with comments or opinions. We understand it must’ve been stressful and that they were receiving a ton of information. Still, though, it’s their job to go through tips. Instead, they got mad at a woman for simply trying to help! Suzanne remarked:
“I didn’t appreciate it. I thought I was being extremely helpful. So to have that type of a confrontational discussion for doing something that I felt was right was very disappointing.”
And ultimately, it sounds like others at the Sheriff’s Department agreed. The Assessor said the call ended when another person at the PCSD stepped in and told Nanos to back off and leave her alone, explaining Nanos shouldn’t be giving her a hard time for complying with a request. Whoa! Nanos agreed, thanked her, and told her to have a nice day before hanging up.
Reflecting on the call, Droubie said:
“Up to that point, I had never had a negative interaction with the sheriff at all. I am kind of chalking it up a lot to frustration with, and immense pressure that he has been put under, being thrust into the national spotlight due to this investigation. However, that being said, it was a very uncomfortable, unpleasant conversation.”
Suzanne pointed out that it’s rare for her office to get a request from the FBI, but she will always comply with any law enforcement request:
“Our job is to be transparent and help whenever you know it’s requested of us for many agencies. In this particular case, obviously, being the Pima County assessor, this was hitting very close to home. I was happy to be able to provide whatever we could provide from the data in our office to be able to help the investigation.”
We’re sorry to hear she had such a negative experience with the Sheriff. How upsetting!
Reactions, Perezcious readers?! Sound OFF (below)!
Savannah Guthrie and her family are offering up to $1 million for information that leads to the recovery of Nancy Guthrie. NOTE: The family reward of up to $1 million will be paid only for recovery of Nancy Guthrie, consistent with FBI criteria for payment of its reward in this case: https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/nancy-guthrie
Authorities have encouraged anyone with information or tips to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, 88-CRIME or tips.fbi.gov. You can also contact the Pima County Sheriff’s office by calling 520-351-4900 or submitting a tip HERE.
[Image via NBC News/YouTube & Savannah Guthrie/Instagram]
