The Attorney General’s Office will investigate Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos’ handling of an internal review of an alleged sex-assault of a deputy by her supervisor, a letter to county officials confirms.
In September Supervisors voted to seek an investigation by an outside law enforcement agency after groups here raised concerns about how the department handled the alleged rape internally. Arizona Attorney General Kristen Mayes in a letter Thursday said her agency will “accept your request to conduct a complete criminal investigation into the actions taken by Pima County Sheriff Nanos.”
The deputy has alleged that a lieutenant, captain and chief failed to adequately respond to the alleged sexual assault by a former sergeant at a Christmas party last December. But Nanos put an internal investigation into her claim “on hold,” the union representing deputies here said in September.
The former sergeant, Ricardo Garcia, was fired then later arrested in January on suspicion of sexual assault. His trial in Pima County Superior Court is set for April 24.
Sharon Bronson, Pima County Board of Supervisors
On Sept. 19, county supervisors voted 3-2 in favor of seeking the independent investigation. Supervisor Sharon Bronson requested an outside agency such as the Attorney General or the Department of Public Safety but said the search should not be limited to just the two agencies.
In the 4-1 vote on Oct. 3, supervisors again voted to push forward with their search. Supervisor Rex Scott remained the sole vote against seeking the outside investigation, citing concerns from the previous discussions that such a probe could interfere with pending civil and criminal cases against Garcia.
Nanos previously called the union’s claims “wild accusations” and that he is disappointed by the allegations being leveled against him and the people who investigated the case. In a statement emailed to the Arizona Daily Star Friday, the department says Nanos welcomes the investigation with open arms.
“We welcome the investigation and will cooperate in any way that we can,” Nanos said Friday in an email to the Star. “The Pima County Sheriff’s Department will fully cooperate with the investigation and looks forward to the same legal outcome provided to the Pima County Board of Supervisors from three separate attorneys.”
Garcia
Garcia, who led a team of school resource officers, hosted a Christmas party at his home in December which was attended by several other department employees.
A $900,000 claim filed by the deputy against Garcia, Pima County and other law enforcement officials says Garcia and his girlfriend allowed the deputy to stay in their spare room after she felt she was unable to drive home.
Garcia then allegedly sexually assaulted the deputy while she was unconscious, the claim says.
According to the union, however, a second, internal investigation the female deputy sought into the actions, or inactions, of her chain of command during the night in question was put on hold by Nanos.
The union alleges the deputy filed a formal complaint against her lieutenant, captain and chief after it was determined they “were aware that she was being actively sexually assaulted by her sergeant, Ricky Garcia, and refused to intervene for 80 minutes.” The union further alleged that the chief presiding over the deputy was “transferred to oversee Internal Affairs after this incident.”
The criminal case into the alleged assault is being handled by the Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office, as previously reported by the Arizona Daily Star.
