Chris Nanos, the sheriff at the center of the search for Nancy Guthrie, is now facing scrutiny from local officials over his recently uncovered disciplinary record as well as a perjury allegation over comments made during a deposition.

On Tuesday evening, the Pima County Board of Supervisors in Pima County, Arizona voted unanimously to invoke a territorial era law that would require Sheriff Nanos to answer their questions under oath. The questions will have pretty much nothing to do with the Guthrie case and everything to do with Nanos’ law enforcement career from 40-something years ago.

The law, A.R.S. § 11-253, allows for the board to make a county employee — like, say, sheriff — offer sworn testimony about “the specific duties of their whatever the position is,” Dr. Matt Heinz, one of the five members of the board of supervisors, told The Hollywood Reporter. In this case, the board and its outside council aim to draft questions demanding Nanos to defend his employment, let alone his elected-leadership role. Nanos is expected to be served those questions on April 7, the date of the board’s next public meeting.

“In response to Board’s decision, Sheriff Nanos will comply with A.R.S. § 11-253 to provide a report to the Pima County Board of Supervisors. He has always been transparent and will provide a report once more direction is provided by the Pima County Administrator,” a spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement shared with THR. “Because this is a legal matter, the Sheriff is unable to comment any further on this matter.”

The Pima County Board of Supervisors does not have the authority to remove the sheriff from office, but it can certainly put a great deal of public pressure on Nanos to resign. The Democratic party in Pima County can censure, condemn or take a vote of “no confidence” in Nanos. (Both Nanos and Heinz are Democrats; Heinz supported Nanos’ most-recent opposing candidate for sheriff, Heather Lappin, who lost by fewer than 500 votes.)

Nanos began his law enforcement career in El Paso, Texas. His résumé, as posted online by the Pima County Sheriff’s Office, states that Nanos served in El Paso from 1976 to 1984. But employment records from the El Paso Police Department, recently unearthed by local reporters and again by Heinz (and provided to THR), state that Nanos resigned from the department “in lieu of termination” on August 3, 1982. The document is below.

Nanos began his employment with the Pima County Sheriff’s Office as a corrections officer in 1984 before rising through the ranks.

A further review of El Paso PD internal affairs files, posted below, shows Nanos was suspended eight times between July 1979 and June 1982 for a total of 32 days, including a 15-day suspension in March 1982 for “excessive force.” Heinz says that particular suspension came as a result of Nanos hitting a handcuffed man in the head with a flashlight, putting the man in the ICU (intensive care unit).

Nanos also received written reprimands on three different occasions, and left work without pay three separate times — two for tardiness and one for missing a shift. Two of Nanos’ suspensions were for “habitual tardiness.”

Nanos would have never received his AZPOST certification, a document that allows one to transfer their standing as a peace officer from an outside state to Arizona, with a disciplinary record like his from El Paso, Heinz says. Heinz and the board believe that disqualifies Nanos from holding any job in law enforcement, let alone the top one in Pima County.

When Nanos applied for law enforcement roles in Arizona, he cited “personal” and “better paying job” as his reasons for leaving the El Paso PD.

“Minimally,” Heinz says, “that is a lie by omission,” arguing that the reality of the situation was that Nanos was going to be fired for “insubordination” and “consistent inefficiency.” Nanos was allowed to resign “in lieu of termination.”

The below applications have Nanos’ correct end-of-employment date (from El Paso).

Heinz also alleges Nanos committed perjury in a December 11, 2025 deposition in which he was asked, in part, if he had ever been suspended as a law enforcement officer. As part of a deposition unrelated to his own employment, when asked if he had “ever received discipline as a law enforcement officer,” Nanos responded, “Yes.” When asked what was “the nature or extent of the discipline that you received,” Nanos responded, “Primarily, it would have been like — I’m not a very good driver.”

“So I had a lot of car accidents so, you know, letter for this or documented verbal for that,” Nanos continued.

Asked, “Did you ever receive a discipline that rose to the level of suspension?,” Nanos replied, “No.”

The exchange can be seen below on “Page 11,” the upper-righthand quadrant.

The Pima County Board of Supervisors has pushed the Arizona attorney general to pursue a perjury charge with the Department of Justice.

Nanos has become a bit of a national figure as the leader (along with the FBI) in the search for Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie. Nancy Guthrie was abducted from her Tucson, Arizona home in the early morning hours of Sunday, Feb. 1. The investigation has yet to identify a suspect. Nanos has received mixed reviews, at best, for his and his department’s performance thus far.