Pressure Increases on Embattled Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Staton

As patrol deputies ponder a "no confidence" vote, the Oregon Court of Appeals decision casts a light on poor management.

By Nigel Jaquiss

Multnomah County sheriff patrol deputies are considering holding a no-confidence vote on Sheriff Dan Staton, the Portland Tribune reported this afternoon.

That news comes after earlier reports about issues at the agency, including Staton's apparent mishandling of an explosive audit of use of force in the county's jails, alleged comments that led to a $300,000 payout to Staton's former top female deputy, and an Oregon Department of Justice investigation into comments Staton allegedly made in January while meeting with top union officials.

Yesterday, as first reported by The Oregonian, the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that Staton's office failed to follow state law when considering a 2012 application for promotion by a sergeant who was a military veteran.

The decision upheld a 2014 finding by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries that Staton's command staff and human resources director all applied different standards when considering Sgt. Rod Edwards' application for promotion to lieutenant.

The state law governing veterans' preferences requires that public agencies devise an objective method to provide veterans an advantage when they seek a job or promotion.

But BOLI found—and the Court of Appeals agreed—that Staton's top managers failed to do that and, in fact, all had very different ideas of how to apply the law.

That failure resulted in BOLI awarding Edwards $50,000 for the agency's mishandling of his application to be promoted to lieutenant.

“The personnel involved in the promotion process were all aware that petitioner was required to give Edwards a veterans’ preference, but each had a very different idea about who would apply it and when,” the court found. “The personnel involved in the promotion process also had different ideas about what standard to use when applying the veterans’ preference.”
Staton’s spokesman, Lt. Steve Alexander, says the agency cannot comment on the Edwards case because some aspects of it remain unresolved, but he provided a statement from the sheriff on the patrol deputies’ concerns.

“I look forward to meeting with the Deputy Sheriff’s Association and discussing any concerns they may have,” Staton said in a statement. “My understanding is, they were not prepared to proceed with a vote, and I know they are concerned the DOJ investigation has not been resolved. Frankly, I am frustrated as well the DOJ investigation has not completed its report. The resulting drawn-out process of the DOJ part is creating a distraction and needs to be resolved sooner [rather] than later.”

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