A second high level member of the Pima County Sheriff’s Office is the subject of a conduct complaint filed with the board that certifies all peace officers in the state, Arizona Daily Independent has confirmed.
PCSD Bureau Chief Harold L. Janes was the subject of a Jan. 19 unanimous vote by the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training (AZPOST) board to initiate proceedings against Janes’ peace officer certification issued in 1999. The outcome of the proceedings can range from no final action, suspension, or revocation.
Sheriff Chris Nanos’ command staff includes Chief Deputy Richard Kastigar, who is responsible for PCSD’s day-to-day operations. The AZPOST board was advised last month that Kastigar has not been a certified peace officer since 2019, a situation Nanos recently said is being addressed.
Kastigar is assisted by four bureau chiefs representing Corrections, Operations, Administration, and Investigations/Support. Janes is currently the Administrative Bureau Chief, responsible for several sections within the department, including staff services, training, communications, records management, community services, risk management, facilities management, and civil enforcement.
Public records show Janes, who uses the nickname Buddy, worked for PCSD until June 5, 2020, although toward the end of his tenure he was serving as acting chief of the Pima College Department of Public Safety. On June 6, 2020, Janes had his AZPOST certification updated to reflect his status as Pima College’s chief, despite questions circulating about Janes’ role in a disciplinary scandal at PCSD involving a subordinate.
Janes’ time at the helm of Pima College DPS ended in June 2021, and on Oct. 4, 2021 his peace officer certification was registered once again with the sheriff’s office.
According to AZPOST Compliance Special Cathy Hawse, the misconduct complaint against Janes stems from his work as a PCSD captain in early 2019 when he was involved in a disciplinary investigation of a subordinate. On two occasions, Janes made written recommendations to suspend the subordinate.
He also made the same recommendation during a meeting attended by then-Sheriff Mark Napier. And Janes reiterated his support for the suspension during a conversation with a lawyer from the Pima County Attorney’s Office.
However, Hawse told the board during its January meeting that Janes testified under oath at a subsequent merit commission hearing that he “had been ordered” to pursue suspension of the subordinate. Janes then recanted the disciplinary recommendation.
Hawse further advised the board that Janes also admitted under oath to not being forthright with Napier about the situation, which contradicted Janes’ comments during an Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) Internal Affairs investigation about having been honest to his chain of command.
“Based on the DPS investigation and POST’s review of all the documentation it appears Captain Janes was either untruthful with his chain of command and with the deputy county attorney representing the sheriff’s department or he provided false testimony during the merit commission hearing,” Hawse told the board.
The board voted unanimously in favor of a motion by DPS Colonel Heston Silbert to initiate proceedings against Janes’ certification. Janes now has the opportunity to respond to the complaint, although a resolution could take several months if Janes demands a formal hearing with an Arizona Administrative Law Judge.
The subordinate referred to by Hawse was then-Lieutenant Joseph Cameron, who received a three-day unpaid suspension in 2019 for unprofessional behavior and insubordination. The merit commission overturned the suspension, ruling in January 2020 that “the county failed to establish that the discipline imposed was justified.”
One commissioner went so far as to allege some of Napier’s command staff engaged in perjury in the disciplinary case. Cameron’s attorney, Michael Storie, called for a criminal investigation into the matter, but it appears the AZPOST complaint regarding Janes is the only fallout.
Cameron was later promoted to Operations Bureau Chief by Sheriff Nanos, who also promoted Janes to Administrative Bureau Chief.
READ ABOUT CHIEF DEPUTY KASTIGAR & AZPOST HERE
