The Chief Magnus Experiment
Chris Magnus became the Chief of Police of the Tucson Police Department in January 2016. In the Welcome Message From Chief Magnus, he makes several promises to include a commitment to “full-service policing,” ensuring the best possible service for everyone who deals with the Tucson Police Department, he promises engagement with the community in a variety of ways, the list goes on. We posted the letter below.
Welcome Message from Chief Magnus
Thank you for visiting the Tucson Police Department’s website. I hope the information you find here will be useful to you and enhance your awareness about what we do. Our department is committed to “full-service policing.” This means that our goal is to go beyond just responding to calls. We want to insure the best possible service for everyone we deal with, engage with the community in a variety of ways, partner with residents to prevent and reduce crime, be good listeners, provide relentless follow-up as needed, and demonstrate both empathy and compassion whenever possible.
The sworn and professional staff of the Tucson Police Department work here because they care. Many of our employees have grown up in or around Tucson; others specifically moved here because they identified Tucson as a special place to live and work. We serve a large population of over 600,000 residents in a metro area of well over 1,000,000 residents covering a land mass of close to 230 square miles. This is a big city with the friendliness and exceptional quality of life typically associated with a small town. Tucson is home to the University of Arizona, Raytheon Aerospace and Defense Company, the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and many other businesses, educational institutions, and major employers. Tucson is also a community of neighborhoods, residents active in local government, and folks who care about preserving the “Old Pueblo” while at the same time cheering new growth. Our strategy for policing is to assign officers geographically throughout the city with the expectation they build solid relationships with the residents, business owners, school, faith communities, and non-profits in their sectors. We believe that when residents and police officers get to know each other, trust is developed, and there is no limit to what we can accomplish together. I think our agency is second to none when it comes to smart, creative, and dedicated people who are significantly invested in public safety. Do you have what it takes to join our team? We have ongoing recruiting and hiring opportunities for both sworn and professional positions within our department. Tucson PD provides an exceptional learning environment, a stable and rewarding career, and the chance to really make a difference in the lives of others. Over the weeks and months ahead, we will continue to expand and improve our presence on social media. Please consider following me on Twitter @ChiefCMagnus and get regular updates about TPD on our “Tucson Police Department” Facebook page. I am always happy to answer your questions, respond to your concerns, or consider your suggestions for how we can continually improve! My office number is 520-791-4441 or I can be e-mailed at chris.magnus@tucsonaz.gov. Thank you again for your interest in our department.
Chris Magnus
Chief of Police
Information to follow.
As you can see, we asked for the evaluations of the performance of Chief Magnus. Again, these are the evaluations that are required by his contract. And you can also see, those evals either don't exist or we just aren't allowed to have them. We wonder if those evaluations were ever done.
Here's another thing...
We took a closer look at the e-mail response from the City of Tucson that told us there were no evaluations of Chief Magnus for the nearly 6 years he was Tucson PD's police chief. Who was copied on that e-mail? Well let's take a look at each of the recipients and what we know about them. Our information is based on simple internet searches and their financial information is based on a public record request received in July 2021. If we are wrong on ANYTHING here, please let us know.
Michael Ortega, Tucson City Manager- Mr. Ortega makes an hourly wage of $117.44 or an estimated annual salary of $244,275.20.
Liana Perez, Deputy City Manager- Liana Perez makes an hourly wage of $95.63 or an estimated annual salary of $198,910.40.
Timothy Thomure, Interim Assistant City Manager- Mr. Thomure makes an hourly wage of $89.25 or an estimated annual salary of $185,640.
Joyce Garland, Assistant City Manager/ Chief Fianacial Officer- We couldn't find how much Joyce Garland is paid by taxpayers, but we estimate it is somewhere between $185,640.00-$198,910.40.
Lane Mandle, Chief of Staff/ City Manager's Office- We were unable to find how much a Chief of Staff for the City Manager's Office pulls down. We'll work on it!
Roger Randolph, Tucson City Clerk- Mr. Randolph makes an hourly wage of $72.53 or an estimated annually salary of $150,862.40.
Andrew Squire, Public Information Officer/ City Manager's Office- Mr. Squire makes an hourly wage of $44.23 or an estimated annual salary of $91,998.40.
**We did not find how much Cynthia Lopez, Executive Assistant/ City Manager's Office and Andrea Mejia-Flores, Management Assistant to the City Manager**
Here's the question, why is it that these people were copied on this simple public record request? This list of people includes some heavy hitters, most of them are the 1%. In fact, if you add up all of their salaries, you come up with well over $1,000,000.00 a year paid by Tucson taxpayers. Here's another question, why was the performance of Chief Magnus never evaluated by the City Manager as required by the listed contract?
Did Any of This Stuff Work?
We will post some pesky statistics that will show that maybe, just maybe, Chris Magnus, who stated, “I guess in some ways, I think of myself as a community activist cleverly disguised as police chief," wasn't the guy for the job. If only there was a way to look into this guy and see if there were any hints that would tell the City of Tucson leadership that providing a safe community isn’t at the top of his list.