The Arizona sheriff leading the investigation into Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance resigned from his very first policing job to avoid being fired over embarrassing blunders — and posted a resume online that fudged the dates of his employment.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos stepped down from the El Paso Police Department in 1982 after racking up a laundry list of infractions — ranging from excessive force to off-duty gambling, to improperly using his siren and simple tardiness, the Arizona Republic reported.
Those missteps — including an allegation that he kicked a suspect in the head so badly they were hospitalized — landed Nanos with 37 days of unpaid leave in the early ’80s, and resulted in him finally being told to either step down or get canned, according to the outlet.
He took the resignation option — but messed up the dates in his publicly posted resume, which stated that he remained with the El Paso Department until 1984, two years longer than he was there, the local paper reported.
The sheriff’s office acknowledged the inaccuracy — calling it and another missed date “clerical errors” that had been corrected — but Nanos himself bristled and brushed it off when pressed.
“That’s your ‘urgent’ request? You sure you don’t want to go back to my high school and ask why I got swats from the principal? Good luck with your hit piece,” he told the Republic.
The resume discrepancy and eyebrow-raising nature of Nanos’s departure from the El Paso Police comes as the sheriff has been criticized over his department’s search for Nancy — the 84-year-old mother of “TODAY” show host Savannah Guthrie, who vanished from her Tucson home on Feb. 1 — which entered its fifth week with no leads and lots of errors.
Nanos has been accused of making confusing and contradictory statements about the case, and of leaving the scene of Nancy’s kidnapping so unsecured that reporters — even pizza deliverymen — were able to walk up to the front door.
The lack of suspects in the five weeks since Nancy was snatched has also led to criticism. Several “persons of interest” were questioned, but all were cleared — including a delivery driver who never even heard of 84-year-old — and investigators have not identified any real suspects.
But Nanos’ career hasn’t been all a blunder.
He led the investigation into the 2011 shooting of Rep. Gabby Giffords — an attack that left six dead and 13 injured — and has been sheriff of Pima County since 2021 after winning two consecutive elections.
He also climbed the department ranks to the top spot after joining as a corrections officer in 1984, following his departure from El Paso.
Even in El Paso — his first job in law enforcement, after joining in 1976 — Nanos received accolades such as “Officer of the Year” for dangerous work as a decoy to bait drug dealers and violent criminals who routinely mugged him.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office backed his leadership in a statement after the resume errors were revealed.
“Sheriff Nanos has dedicated more than four decades to law enforcement and public service. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to professionalism, accountability, and the safety of the communities he serves,” the statement said. “As Sheriff of Pima County, he continues to lead the department with experience, integrity, and a clear focus on protecting the residents of Pima County.”