On Monday, a Notice of Claim was filed on behalf of former Department of Economic Security Chief Law Enforcement Officer Charles “Charlie” Loftus against the State of Arizona for false statements. The Notice of Claim addresses false statements contained in the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) Firearms Program Audit of Arizona DES released on July 7, 2017.
In the Notice of Claim, attorney Charles Johnson alleges that the audit “was created and published to the public maliciously, with the intent of harming” Loftus.
Loftus has a stellar reputation in the law enforcement community. After serving with the ASU Police Department for 23 years, he served in the Arizona Attorney General’s Office for approximately eight years. With a Ph.D. focused on public corruption from ASU, Loftus presently teaches at ASU and is the faculty co-director of an ASU study abroad program that takes students to Israel for Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence training every summer.
In the Notice, Loftus alleges that the “author of the report, for whom the State is liable, maliciously wrote falsehoods, including falsely reporting what he had been told by witnesses, including me.”
Loftus is willing to settle the matter for $2.6 million.
“I’m very disappointed in the accuracy of the investigation, it seems that the conclusion was established before the interviews were started,” said Loftus after the Notice was served. “There are some extraordinary claims that are contradicted by facts. I’m sorry to see what appears to be an investigation directed by the Governor’s office for political sensationalism.”
“Interviews of witnesses and a review of the facts will demonstrate either the investigation was horribly flawed or perhaps something more sinister was at play. Either way we were smeared to take the attention away from the real reason we were fired which was having a criminal investigation opened on a friend and political donor of the Governor for $1.4 million in Medicaid/AHCCCS fraud,” stated Loftus.
The Notice reads in part:
On Friday, July 7, 2017, the State of Arizona published a report containing libel against me, entitled “Arizona Department of Economic Security, Firearms Program Audit Report (“Report”), authored by Inspector Christopher Luebkin (“Luebkin”) of the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
This report contains material purported facts which are false, and which were known to be false by the State of Arizona (“State”) and its employees and agents on or before July 7, 2017, for which the State is responsible and liable to me. This Report was created and published to the public maliciously, with the intent of harming me. The Report has caused grave, irreparable damage to me in my profession, a certified peace officer, making me unemployable in that profession due to its falsehoods damaging my reputation.
A peace officer whose reputation is tarnished will not be hired by any law enforcement agency, not only because of the tarnish, but also because of the requirements imposed by Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963) and its Arizona progeny. At the time I was fired by the State, without cause and with malice, I was seven years away from retirement with a full pension from the Arizona State Retirement System. This Report has detrimentally affected my livelihood and my future.
The Report identifies me as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the Arizona Department of Economic Security. Therefore, any falsehood in the Report concerning the use, record keeping, or purchase of ammunition or firearms, including officer training, falsely and maliciously libels me.
The Report falsely states that the amount of ammunition purchased under my supervision was excessive.
The Report falsely states that the ammunition was not secured.
The Report falsely states that the records concerning access to and usage of the ammunition did not exist.
The Report places me in a false light by reporting that: “it was stated . . . Charlie Loftus utilized DES ammunition for personal use at a private shooting range . . . .”
The Report falsely states that 4,050 rounds of ammunition are “missing from the DES inventory.”
The Report falsely states that ammunition was purchased from a non-authorized vendor.
The Report falsely states that ammunition was purchased in violation of the Arizona Procurement Code.
The Report falsely states that I purchased ammunition for personal use for which I was reimbursed by the State.
The Report falsely states that I issued State firearms to unauthorized employees such as Tim Jeffries and Clark Collier.
The Report falsely states that I purchased Beretta pistols for unauthorized employees.
The Report falsely states that employees failed to adhere to and follow State policies.
The Report falsely states that proper training records were not kept. The Report falsely states that no training outlines were kept.
The Report falsely states that I went to a gun range weekly with Tim Jeffries.
The Report falsely states that I told Luebkin that Tim Jeffries wanted to start his own police force.
The Report falsely states that DES OIG and Security Services personnel did not receive adequate training.
The Report falsely states that improvements were made after I was fired, which improvements were made by me before being fired.
The Report falsely states that before I was fired the Security Services training program, firearms program, and ammunition management program were rife with disorganization and inefficiency.
The Report falsely states that training records and accounting of ammunition disbursements and ammunition security were absent and non-existent.
In April 2016, Mary Jo Pitzl in the Arizona Republic reported on the changes being made by Inspector General Jay Arcellana to the Department in the aftermath of the San Bernardino massacre. Arcellana told Pitzl that the policy change was “motivated by recent active-shooter cases. The mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., happened at a social-service office, which was not lost on DES officials.”
Arcellana said that DES employees were “dealing with a clientele in need, oftentimes people are desperate.” Records offer a glimpse into the situations DES employees faced on a weekly basis:
