Nancy Guthrie Sheriff Sued for $1M After ‘Catastrophic’ Fumble in ‘National Embarrassment’ Investigation
The Nancy Guthrie investigation has put the Pima County Sheriff’s Department in the spotlight, and Sheriff Chris Nanos has become a recognizable figure for anyone following the search for Savannah Guthrie’s mother. Nanos has been on TV a lot, reporting on the latest in the investigation, giving interviews, and generally pleading for whoever has information to come forward.
But not everyone is a fan. In fact, at this point, there are probably more detractors than fans. Reports indicate one Arizona inmate, Christopher Michael Marx, is suing Sheriff Chris Nanos and his department for over $1 million. The lawsuit alleges the department put his life at risk by not adhering to COVID-19 protocols, according to court documents obtained by the New York Post. The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the District of Arizona on March 5.
Related: Who are Savannah Guthrie’s siblings?
The lawsuit claims that a sheriff deputy was working both a unit where an inmate with COVID-19 was quarantined and his unit. “This deputy was going back and forth working both units … our unit was on lockdown because this deputy was working both units,” the lawsuit reads, adding that the deputy allegedly did not wipe down his body to sanitize himself when he moved from unit to unit.
“This put my life in jeopardy with their action, constantly,” Marx wrote. “I could have died.”
Marx is looking for “an apology from the sheriff” and $1,350,000, which he said he will use to donate to two apartment buildings used to house the formerly homeless.
This all comes as Nanos and his department have faced criticism for their handling of the Nancy Guthrie investigation. “It is a common belief in this agency that this case has become an ego case for Sheriff Nanos,” Sgt. Aaron Cross, president of the Pima County Deputies Organization, previously told The New York Post.
He’s not the only one to criticize Nanos. A source told Radar Online that the investigation has been a “catastrophe” and a “national embarrassment for the whole department” because of Nanos. “He’s making us look bad,” the insider said. “The rank and file hate this guy’s guts, and now the whole country sees why – and it’s a tragedy that it has to involve, by all accounts, a good and decent 84-year-old woman who happens to have a famous daughter. That’s the real horror here.”
Nancy Guthrie disappeared somewhere between the night of January 31 and the morning of February 1. As of today, the Pima County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI do not have any concrete leads, even though they’ve released surveillance photos and video of a masked suspect and have reportedly recovered DNA from a glove found near Guthrie’s house. The investigation continues, with police now trying to determine if there was an internet outage the night Guthrie disappeared and if a suspicious man neighbors saw a few weeks before is connected to the abduction.
The reward for information about Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance is up to $1 million.
