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Your average motorist knows that when the guy with the shiny badge saunters up to your window, the appropriate response is, "Hello, officer. Is there a problem?" Such courtesy is doubly important when your passenger appears to be at least two sheets to the wind. But Washington County District Attorney Scott Upham is not your average motorist. So when a couple of sheriff's deputies approached his parked car late one evening this summer, Upham told one of the officers to "shut up." Not once, but several times. "I've had people be rude to me before," Sheriff's Deputy Shawn Dunn told WW. "But I can't recall anyone telling me to shut up." The incident took place in August, but has not been reported, even though at least three other newspapers--including The Oregonian--know about it. On the one hand, the media silence is understandable. Officers suspected that Upham's passenger, Deputy District Attorney Robert Heard, was drunk, but there is no indication that Upham had been drinking before driving. And, as Sheriff Jim Spinden told WW, "There's no law against telling a deputy to shut up." On the other hand, the incident is newsworthy for the lack of professionalism demonstrated by the highest-ranking law officer in the county--a man known for aggressively going after other county employees rumored to be guilty of misconduct. According to his police report, Deputy Allen Pastori was dispatched to 4185 NW 178th Place in Portland shortly after 10 pm on Aug. 22 to investigate a complaint about "two very drunk males in a vehicle... [who] were very loud and cussing at each other." Pastori says he found the two men in a black car parked partially in a driveway on a residential cul-de-sac (Heard lives on the same block). Pastori, who didn't recognize the men, says he told them about the complaint. "The driver immediately wanted to know who it was that complained," Pastori wrote. "I told him I didn't know.... The driver then snapped back 'Why don't you know?'" At this point Pastori asked for Upham's license, realized who he was dealing with and conferred with Dunn, who had just arrived. They approached the car together. Pastori wrote that although Upham seemed sober and there was no booze in evidence, "Heard was very intoxicated. There was a strong odor of alcohol coming from the car." When the officers began questioning the men, "Upham started asking again who it was that complained, actually angry in his request to know," Pastori wrote. "At this point, Deputy Dunn tried to advise Mr. Upham that we didn't need to give him that information.... All of the sudden Mr. Upham, while looking at Deputy Dunn, says 'Shut up,' or 'Be quiet,' several times." (Pastori was unsure of Upham's exact words, but Dunn says he remembers being told to "shut up.") Since Upham appeared to be sober, Pastori wrote, there was no justification for giving him a sobriety test. The deputies drove around the corner where they waited to monitor Upham's driving performance. They were dispatched for another call, however, before Upham left the scene. Upham, who was in trial this week, could not be reached for comment. His assistant, Jim Carr, wondered what all the fuss was about. "From where I sit," Carr told WW, "I don't see what the story is." One potential story is preferential treatment. Some people argue that even though Upham did not appear to be drunk, police still would have dragged anyone else out of the car for a sobriety test. But others familiar with Washington County police practices aren't so sure. It was a residential neighborhood, and the two middle-aged white men were parked, at least partially, on private property. "There wasn't sufficient probable cause to do a sobriety investigation," says Spinden, who argues that if the deputies wanted to let Upham off the hook, they wouldn't have staked out his car after leaving the scene. "They did what they should have done." If Upham did get some slack it was with his lip. Spinden concedes that there aren't many motorists in that situation who'd mouth off to a deputy. "I would agree that 99 percent of the people don't tell an officer to shut up," he says. Upham's confrontational style points to a sub-plot of this tale. During his 15 years as DA, Upham has made many enemies. While some admire his in-your-face tactics with violent criminals, they bristle at the way he's gone after county employees. In recent years, Upham has launched several internal county investigations--of the county counsel's office, the corrections department and, most recently, the building division. In addition, two years ago Upham indicted Randall Libby and Kevin Hunt, two expert witnesses who had testified for a defendant in a murder trial, charging them with lying to the court. Upham then mailed copies of the indictment to Libby's potential clients. the two men were acquitted, and Libby filed a civil suit against Upham. That suit was settled last week. County officials--including elected commission members--privately complain that Upham's secretive investigations seem aimed more at intimidating political enemies than rooting out real corruption. Yet because of his power, few dare to criticize Upham openly. One county insider likened him to Joe McCarthy. Another described his investigations as "witch hunts." It's no surprise, then, that many county workers took delight in learning that, at least on one night, Upham found himself under police scrutiny--and didn't seem to enjoy it. |
