Former Republican Pima County sheriff candidate Lt. Heather Lappin has filed a $2 million notice of claim, the first step ahead of a possible lawsuit, alleging that Sheriff Chris Nanos took “unwarranted disciplinary actions,” and abused the department’s own policies “for the specific purpose of influencing the election.”
Nanos placed Lappin on leave from her department job in the final weeks of the 2024 campaign for sheriff, along with union leader Sgt. Aaron Cross. Incumbent Democrat Nanos ultimately won the election for Pima County sheriff, following a recount of a razor-thin margin of less than 500 votes.
The county has 60 days to respond to the claim, which could proceed to a lawsuit if the parties don’t reach a settlement.
In the document, Lappin says she was told to recommend that incarcerated people in Pima County jail refuse an interview request from a local journalist, raising questions about the process for media access to inmates.
That notice of claim was filed to the Pima County Clerk of the Board and shared Tuesday with Arizona Luminaria by Lappin’s attorney. The document sheds new light on a dispute that roiled the Pima County sheriff’s race in the fall of 2024. That same dispute embroiled an Arizona Luminaria journalist in a broad debate about reporters’ access to local jails.
In the claim, Lappin lays out — in previously unseen detail — her experience as an employee of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department while running for leadership of the department.
Nanos told Arizona Luminaria by phone on Tuesday that he can’t speak about the claim but asserts that directions Lappin says she received from a colleague about media access to inmates went against departmental policy.
Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher said Nanos shared a copy of the claims with her, but there was no action for the county administrator at this time. One member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors declined to comment, one did not reply, and the one had not yet seen the document when contacted with a request for comment.
Supervisor Matt Heinz, who endorsed Lappin and called for the board to censure Nanos last year, said the claim would proceed through an internal administrative process with county leadership. “I’ve reviewed the materials that were presented. I have concerns,” he said. “I look forward to seeing how this is resolved.”
New details about media process
In the document, Lappin lays out her experience as a candidate for sheriff while working in the department — starting with her job as training section commander and continuing through her transfer to the jail.
She describes her experience coordinating an interview between Arizona Luminaria journalist John Washington and two people incarcerated at the jail. An ongoing Arizona Luminaria investigation into jail deaths, dating back to 2022, scrutinized Nanos’ leadership amid 58 deaths at the jail between 2020 and 2024.
According to the claim, Lappin sought guidance from her colleagues on how to handle Washington’s request, given that she didn’t know the applicable media policy.
“Lappin had not been informed of any applicable PCSD [Pima County Sheriff’s Department] policy, and she had not been required to read or to memorize any Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on the topic,” the claim said.
The claim alleges that Lt. Mark Hamilton told Lappin to inform the inmates of the reporter’s request and pass along their contact information but “to recommend to the inmates that they not speak to Mr. Washington.” According to the claim, the directive struck Lappin as odd but Hamilton’s specificity and confidence made Lappin believe his instructions were department policy.
The claim details Washington conducting an interview, the incarcerated person who was interviewed noting to Lappin the high cost of the call, and Washington noting that he wanted to reimburse the cost.
From there, the claim says Lappin again reached out to a handful of colleagues about how to handle the reimbursement request. Those colleagues told Lappin that the Arizona Luminaria reporter could add money to the inmates’ accounts via the online portal or make a deposit in person at the jail. Lappin relayed that information, then says she quickly forgot about what she believed was a clear-cut exchange.
“These events were utterly unremarkable and quickly forgotten by Lieutenant Lappin and the rest of the staff at the Jail,” the claim said.
Months later, that series of events became one of the reasons Nanos cited for placing Lappin on leave just weeks away from the election. In the claim, Lappin alleges that happened as she began to close the gap in the sheriff’s race.
Nanos told Arizona Luminaria the sheriff’s department does not discourage inmates from speaking to the media but that there’s a process in place to handle these requests.
“If you, as a member of the media, were to ask Heather Lappin, ‘Hey, I’d like to speak with inmate John Doe,’ she would say, ‘Not a problem, let me call the chief’ — her supervisor. Then, she’d have to fill out the appropriate forms, which trigger a process: they notify the county attorney’s office, the inmate’s attorney, and the court, all to let them know that a media request has been made to speak with the inmate,” Nanos said.
“Our team, our staff failed to follow policy and gave a note or whatever it was and took it up — it wasn’t out of malicious conduct, it wasn’t all ‘we’re going to do something’ — but it was still a violation of policy that could jeopardize that [inmate’s] case,” he said.
Hamilton responded “no comment” to Arizona Luminaria’s request for a statement.
Still, civil liberties experts say reports of any discouragement are troubling.
Jared Keenan, legal director at American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, told Arizona Luminaria it made sense for the department to have policies advising inmates to consult their legal team before speaking to the media but not outright discouragement.
“The jail staff and the sheriff’s department are not lawyers, and they’re certainly not the prisoner’s lawyer. So, giving advice like that is just sort of inappropriate, in my view,” he said.
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