Former DES director says he was libeled by report on weapons cache

PHOENIX — The former head of the Department of Economic Security, Tim Jeffries, is suing the state for libel, saying his reputation was damaged.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Maricopa County Superior Court says a report prepared by the Department of Public Safety about Jeffries and his conduct at DES is filled with lies. These range from statements that he carried a gun on state property to claims he was taking ammunition from DES inventory that belonged to the state, the lawsuit says.

Also filing suit is Charles Loftus, who was DES’s chief law enforcement officer. He lists what he calls false statements in the DPS report, including that the amount of ammunition purchased under his supervision was “excessive.”

The lawsuit seeks “damages in a reasonable amount to compensate them for their losses.” No specific amount is mentioned, as that is prohibited under Arizona court rules.

But in a formal claim made in August, a precursor to filing suit, Jeffries said he wanted $5.1 million to repair his damaged reputation.

Gubernatorial press aide Daniel Scarpinato said Gov. Doug Ducey’s office will review the lawsuit but had no immediate comment Tuesday.

Ducey fired Jeffries last November from the $215,250-a-year-job because of a series of incidents, Scarpinato has said.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Loftus was fired at the same time along with several other top DES officials in a shakeup at the agency, which oversees a host of programs ranging from food stamps and welfare benefits to unemployment benefits.

The libel suit, however, stems not from the firing but a DPS report prepared after the discovery that the DES, which had its own security force, had a cache of weapons and ammunition.

State troopers eventually seized 55 handguns and nearly 89,000 rounds of ammunition stored in the basement at DES. And Henry Darwin, named by Ducey as interim DES director, said the officers followed Jeffries to his Scottsdale home where they confiscated a gun he had purchased for himself with public funds.

Ducey asked DPS to audit the stockpile and review the purchases and security procedures. Among the findings was that the amount of ammunition “may reasonably be described as excessive,” with the report saying that is three or four times what a large police department might need in a year. Investigators also said they could not find about 4,000 rounds.

The report also said “policies and procedures” for purchases were violated, “there was essentially no security” for the ammunition and DES employees had “easy access” to the weapons.

Jeffries also took exception to other statements in the report. One is the conclusion that Jeffries was building and wanted to control a police force at DES, partly in response to a terrorist attack in San Bernardino, Calif.

Attorney Tom Horne, who represents Jeffries, said the people who made the statements were “agents of the state” who were acting “in the course and scope of their employment.” That makes the state itself liable, he said.